THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 

OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 


GERMAN  MEMORIES 


THE  AUTHOR 

From  the  Portrait  by  Luubacli 


GERMAN  MEMORIES 


BY 
SIDNEY  WHITMAN 

AUTHOR  OF 
"IMPEEIAL  GERMANY"  ETC. 


iriTH    PORTRAITS 


NEW  YORK 
CHARLES    SCRIBNER'S    SONS 
LONDON   :  WILLIAM   HEINEMANN 

1912 


Printed  in  England 


DD 
(J  5^0 

PKEFACE'^ 


Die  Geschichte  des  Menschen  ist  sein  Character.! — Goethe  (Wilhelm 
Meister). 

Manifold  are  the  roads  that  lead  to  Rome,  various  are  the 
conditions  under  which  we  may  become  acquainted  with  a 
foreign  land  ;  though  I  am  inclined  to  doubt  whether  modern 
facilities  for  travel  have  increased  the  number  of  those  who 
penetrate  beneath  the  surface  of  another  country,  let  alone 
their  own.  On  the  other  hand,  with  the  growing  complexity 
of  the  inter-relationship  of  national  interests  and  ideas,  it 
is  becoming  more  difficult  every  day  to  gauge  the  road  we 
ourselves  are  travelling  without  possessing  some  knowledge  of 
what  is  taking  place — germinating,  ripening — outside  our 
own   doors. 

The  travelling  potentate,  greeted  by  cheering  crowds  and 
deputations,  welcomed  by  a  generous  Press,  is  delighted  with  the 
simulacra  of  Potemkin  villages,  whereas  the  penniless  emigrant 
confronts  the  grim  realities  of  life.  The  tourist  sees  just  as 
much  as  his  limited  opportunities  may  bring  within  his  ken, 
and,  unless  endowed  with  a  gift  of  observation,  at  all  times 
rare,  assimilates,  in  a  whole  lifetime,  little  worth  recording. 
This  is  more  especially  the  case  with  those  in  whom  the  con- 
servative instincts  bred  of  a  powerful  civilisation  of  their  own 
country  leave  little  receptivity  for  foreign  customs  and  ideas. 
Thus  we  find  Frenchmen  and  Englishmen  residing  for  years  in 
other  lands  without  being  affected  by  or  taking  the  slightest 
interest  in  their  character  or  institutions.  Many  years  ago  I 
met  a  lady  whose  husband  often  appeared  on  London  platforms 

1  "  The  history  of  man  is  his  character." 


PREFACE 

as  a  champion  of  popular  causes — interests  which  she  herself 
was  supposed  to  share.  She  spoke  of  Germany  and  her  visits 
to  that  country,  so  I  ventured  to  inquire  as  to  her  connections 
and  acquaintances  in  the  Fatherland.  To  my  surprise  she 
replied  huskily  in  a  half  whisper  :  "  The  Court  !    The  Court !  " 

The  case  is  different  where  intimate  relations  with  the  inner 
life  of  a  foreign  country  and  the  receipt  of  many  benefits, 
intellectual  and  social,  have  had  a  share  in  moulding  the  mind, 
broadening  our  horizon  and  materially  adding  to  our  enjoy- 
ment of  life.  Here  our  memory  must  be  that  of  a  guest 
who  met  with  much  kindness  and  gratefully  dwells  by  pre- 
ference upon  the  pleasant  side  of  his  experiences.  This  is  the 
frame  of  mind  in  which  I  have  written  these  pages — in  the 
spirit  of  Goethe's  words :  "  Wahrheitsliebe  zeigt  skh  daring 
dass  man  uherall  das  Gute  zu  finden  und  zu  schdtzen  zveiss.''''  ^ 

The  following  pages  embody  memories  of  Germany  from 
boyhood  down  to  the  present  day,  a  period  of  over  fifty  years. 
They  are  intended  as  a  supplement  and  sequel  to  my  previous 
work,  and  will,  I  hope,  form  a  further  sympathetic  cdhtribu- 
tion  to  the  knowledge  of  that  country. 

Circumstances — early  education,  followed  by  extensive  busi- 
ness relations  during  a  number  of  years  ;  authorship,  and  finally 
journalism — have,  I  think,  afforded  me  exceptional  facilities 
for  viewing  German  life  from  almost  every  aspect.  Indeed, 
there  can  hardly  be  a  class,  high  or  low,  with  representatives 
of  which  I  have  not  come  in  contact  at  one  time  or  another. 
Some  of  these  were  distinguished  men  whose  names  are 
inscribed  in  the  national  annals  of  fame.  Others  less  re- 
markable— some  of  humble  station — have  afforded  me  many 
opportunities  for  obtaining  an  insight  into  the  inner  life  of  the 
people. 

My  relations  with  Prince  Bismarck  and  his  family  form 
the   subject  of  a  separate  publication,^  to  which  I  need   only 

^  "The  love  of  truth  shows  itself  in  our  endeavour  to  seek  out  everywhere 
that  which  is  good  and  to  appreciate  it." 

2  Personal  Bciiiniscem-es  of  Prince  Bismarch,  by  Sidney  Whitman,  19U2, 
London,  John  Blurray  ;  Appleton,  New  York  ;  Union  Verlag,  Stuttgart. 

vi 


PREFACE 

make  reference  in  order  to  give  a  clue  to  some  of  the 
experiences  hereafter  related.  Several  of  my  visits  to 
Germany  during  the  years  1891-8  were  the  outcome  of 
invitations  from  the  Bismarck  family,  and  some  of  my 
most  valuable  acquaintanceships  were  due  to  this  connection. 
I  was  the  Prince's  guest  at  Friedrichsruh  on  two  of  his  birth- 
days, notably  his  eightieth,  in  1895,  which  called  forth  a 
public  demonstration  the  recollection  of  which  can  never  fade 
from  the  memory  of  those  who  were  privileged  to  take  part 
in  it.  But  the  most  important  result  of  the  Bismarck  con- 
nection to  me  was  that  it  led  to  my  embarking  on  the  broad 
waters  of  journalism. 

One  evening  in  the  autumn  of  1894  I  was  dining  with 
Count  Herbert  Bismarck  at  the  house  of  Baron  Deichmann, 
in  London,  when  the  former  suggested  that  I  should  accom- 
pany him  to  The  Hague,  where  he  was  about  to  pay  a 
visit  to  his  sister  and  her  husband,  Count  Rantzau,  who  was  at 
that  time  German  Minister  at  the  Dutch  capital.  On  my 
replying  that  I  could  not  leave  London  on  account  of  business 
to  which  I  had  to  attend,  he  blurted  out  in  his  jovial  way  : 
"  What  can  a  man  like  you  have  to  do  with  business  !  You 
ought  to  take  up  political  journalism  ;  that  would  be  a  far 
more  congenial  occupation  for  you.  I  will  mention  it  to 
Gordon  Bennett." 

Some  weeks  afterwards  I  received  a  letter  from  the  pro- 
prietor of  the  New  York  Herald  asking  me  to  go  to  Paris 
to  see  him.  I  did  so,  and  in  due  course  became  correspondent 
of  that  paper  in  London.  In  the  following  three  years  I 
represented  the  Herald  on  different  occasions  in  Berlin,  Vienna, 
Constantinople,  and  Macedonia.  I  also  took  part  in  a  like 
capacity  in  an  expedition  sent  by  the  Sultan  to  Asiatic 
Turkey  in  the  winter  of  1897-8.  On  my  return  from  the 
East  Mr.  Bennett  suggested  that  I  should  go  permanently  to 
Berlin  as  chief  correspondent  of  the  New  Ywk  Herald.  This 
proposal  I  declined,  as  I  did  not  wish  to  leave  London. 
Seven  years  later,  in  the  autunni  of  1905,  Mr.  Bennett 
induced  me  to  go  to  Moscow  during  the  Revolution,  and  thence 

vii 


PREFACE 

on  to  Berlin  during  the  Algeciras  Conference  in  the  spring  of 
1906. 

In  dealing  with  these  and  other  experiences,  as  far  as  they 
come  within  the  scope  of  this  volume,  I  have  endeavoured  to 
portray  something  of  more  than  passing  interest.  If  in  so 
doing  I  have  unduly  accentuated  the  irrepressible  "  ego "  it 
was  because  I  should  have  been  unable  to  give  the  requisite 
actuality  to  my  story  by  adopting  any  other  form  of 
narration. 

The  opening  chapters  treat  of  the  conditions  prevailing  in 
Germany  fifty  years  ago,  and  form  a  background  to  the  main 
body  of  the  book. 

S.  W. 


La  raemoire  des  hommes  n'est  qu'un 
imperceptible  trait  du  sillon  que  chacun 
de  nous  laisse  au  sein  de  I'infini,  Elle 
n'est  pas  cepeudaut  chose  vaine. 

Ernest  Kenan 


Vlll 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTrn  PAOB 

I.  School  Memoriks  1 

II.  Befohe  1870  IS 

III.  The   Emperor  Wiluam   I  33 

IV.  Dresden  after   1870  46 
V.  The  Glass  Works  60 

VI.  The  Silesian  Nobility  72 

VII.  GusTAV  VON  Moser  S8 

VIII.  Field-marshal  Moltke  97 

IX.  Berlin,  1890-91  106 

X.  Prince  Bismarck  H6 

XI.  Lenbach  127 

XII.  Munich  143 

XIII.  Field-marshal  Blumenthal  153 

XIV.  King  Charles  of  Roumama  i69 
XV.  Theodor  Mommsen  176 

XVI.  Prince  Reuss  VII  187 

XVII.  Weimar  200 

XVIII.   Prince  Bulow  209 

XIX.  The  Wilhelmstrasse  223 

XX.  Some  Socialist  Leaders  234 

XXI.  Some  Mkmorieb  Recalled  242 

XXII.  Conclusion  260 

Index  281 


IX 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

Frontispieee 


The  Author 

(From  the  portrait  by  Liiibach) 

Prince  Bismarck 

Baron  Gustav  vox  Moser 

Franz  von  Lenbach 

Field-Marshal  Count  Blumenthal 

H.M.  THE  King  of  Roumania 

Professor  Mommsen 

Prince  BiiLow 


facing  paxjc  42 
88 
128 
154 
170 
184 
210 


XI 


CHAPTER  I 

SCHOOL  MEMORIES 

It  is  said  that  as  we  grow  older  the  memories  of  our  youth — 
those  that  often  exercise  a  lasting  influence  on  our  lives — 
grow  more  vivid,  whilst  we  are  apt  to  forget  recent  events. 
Thus  my  first  impressions  of  Germany,  beginning  in  the 
summer  of  the  year  1859,  stand  out  before  me  in  bold  relief: 
the  Rhine  with  its  pictures(|ue  castles,  its  vineyards,  open  and 
unprotected  from  pilferers ;  the  carriage  road  from  Biebrich 
to  Wiesbaden  lined  with  apple  and  plum  trees ;  the  villas,  the 
gardens  full  of  fruit-trees  with  no  brick  walls  or  fences  to 
protect  them  ;  the  forests  of  the  Taunus  range — not  enclosed, 
but  free  and  open  to  all  to  roam  through  ;  Wiesbaden  an  idyl 
of  comeliness,  where  all  classes  mingled  in  the  Kurgarten  to 
listen  to  the  military  band — princes  and  monarchs  occasionally 
among  the  crowd,  without  anybody  running  after  them  or 
molesting  them — many  excellent  hotels  at  moderate  prices ;  a 
municipal  theatre  at  which  you  could  see  Ristori,  the  great 
tragedienne,  one  night,  and  hear  Mozai'fs  "  Figaro  "  the  next, 
with  Carl  Formes,  the  renowned  basso-profundo,  as  the  immortal 
Barber  ;  and  the  market-place  with  bright-faced  peasants  from 
the  neighbourhood,  selling  fruit  and  vegetables.  Decency, 
decorum,  and  cleanliness  were  in  evidence  everywhere  These 
were  sights  to  leave  enduring  impressions  upon  a  London-born 
boy,  who  had  hitherto  only  seen  the  Thames  from  Richmond 
to  Greenwich  and  Gravesend,  and  visited  a  watering-place  on 
the  English  south  coast.  They  have  clung  to  me  through  life, 
and  in  a  measure  account  for  my  sympathy  with  a  country 
where  such  conditions  prevail.  Everything  I  have  written 
about  Germany  has  been  more  or  less  coloured  by  them.      I 

A  1 


GERMAN    MEMORIES 

had  imbibed  a  strong  partiality  for  the  study  of  history  from 
my  father,  and  already  took  a  keen  interest  in  the  political 
situation.  It  was  just  after  the  Franco-Italian  War,  which 
had  ended  in  a  triumph  for  France,  and  the  political  outlook 
was  not  favourable  for  Germany.  Yet  even  in  those  days  I 
had  a  presentiment  that  a  great  future  was  in  store  for  that 
country. 

We  stayed  a  few  days  at  Frankfort-on-the-Maine.  A 
crusty  old  gentleman  with  hard,  clean-cut  features,  thin  lips, 
wide  mouth,  and  sparse  bristling  hair  and  whiskers  sat  at  the 
table  d'hote  of  the  Hotel  d'Angleterre.  He  had  a  good 
appetite,  and  the  waiters  seemed  to  take  pleasure  in  piling  the 
dishes  in  front  of  him,  after  they  had  been  served  round,  when 
he  glared  at  them  with  a  pair  of  remarkably  fine,  piercing 
eyes.  My  father  said  to  me :  "  Take  note,  my  boy,  of  that 
man  !  When  you  grow  up  you  will  hear  of  him  as  a  great 
thinker."  He  was  Arthur  Schopenhauer.  He  died  in  the 
following  year,  and  when  I  came  to  Frankfort  again  his 
portrait  in  oils  hung  on  the  wall  opposite  the  spot  at  which 
he  used  to  sit  every  day  for  many  years. 

My  parents  wished  their  children  to  learn  German,  so  it 
was  decided  to  put  me,  as  the  eldest,  to  school  in  Germany. 
A  friend  of  my  father's  had  a  son  at  the  famous  Vitzthum 
Gymnasium  at  Dresden,  and  there  I  was  placed  as  a  boarder 
in  the  autumn  of  1859,  at  the  age  of  eleven,  among 
strangers,  without  knowing  as  much  as  three  consecutive 
words  of  the  German  language.  The  Vitzthum  Gymnasium 
was  an  institution  devoted  to  the  gratuitous  education  of 
members  of  the  noble  family  of  that  name,  and  was  founded 
in  the  year  1638.  The  Blochmann  Institute  was  amalga- 
mated with  it  in  the  year  1828,  and  the  two  together  enjoyed 
a  high  reputation  far  beyond  the  boundaries  of  Germany. 
Perhaps  this  was  owing  to  the  fact  that  the  founder  of  the 
latter,  Carl  Justus  Blochmann  (1786—1857),  had  studied 
under  the  renowned  Pestalozzi,  and  that  the  school  was 
supposed  to  be  carried  on  according  to  the  principles  of  this 
far-famed  Swiss  pedagogue.      Physical  culture,  as  part  of  the 


SCHOOL    MEMORIES 

formation  of  character,  was  one  of  these,  and  at  that  time  this 
was  an  educational  novelty.  The  school  certainly  possessed  a 
cosmopolitan  character,  for  it  included  boys  from  the  United 
States,  France,  England,  Denmark,  Austria,  Russia,  and 
Roumania,  the  latter  in  those  days  consisting  of  the  Danubian 
Principalities  (Wallachia  and  Moldavia). 

The  German  system  of  education  fifty  years  ago  was  of  a 
more  Spartan  kind  than  that  of  either  France  or  England,  and 
nowhere  was  discipline  stricter  than  among  the  upper  classes. 
It  was  not  for  nothing  that  both  Bismarck  and  Moltke 
remembered  their  school-days  with  repugnance.  Of  the 
former  it  is  on  record  that  when  he  went  out  walking  with 
his  schoolfellows  the  tears  would  come  into  his  eyes  at  the 
sight  of  a  plough,  which  reminded  him  of  home  ;  Moltke  never 
shook  off  the  hardening  effects  of  his  early  years.  Still,  I  am 
inclined  to  doubt  whether  things  were  anywhere  quite  so 
rigorous  as  at  the  Vitzthum  Gymnasium  in  the  years  in  which 
I  belonged  to  it.  At  least  it  is  tolerably  certain  that  the 
German  police  would  not  tolerate  conditions  in  a  plain 
Volkschule  to  -  day  such  as  prevailed  in  the  Vitzthum 
Gymnasium  in  Dresden  in  my  time,  where  the  sons  of  the 
nobility  of  Saxony,  Prussia,  and  Mecklenburg — even  scions  of 
reigning  houses — were  educated. 

Sleeping  accommodation  was  of  the  most  primitive,  not  to 
say  of  an  almost  barbaric  description,  in  every  way  inferior  to 
that  which  I  have  since  seen  among  the  Russian  soldiers  in 
their  barracks.  In  the  winter  the  water  was  frozen  in  the 
jugs,  so  we  had  to  go  without  washing,  for  no  hot  water  was 
supplied.  We  were  called  up  at  5  a.m.  in  the  summer  and  at 
six  in  the  winter.  Exactly  half  an  hour  was  allowed  from  the 
time  of  being  first  called  to  appear  downstairs  to  claim  the 
meagre  fare  which  figured  as  breakfast,  a  cup  of  thin  coffee 
and  a  piece  of  dry  white  bread  (Semmel),  the  cost  of  which 
was  exactly  three  pfennige,  or  one-third  of  a  penny  in  English 
money.  With  the  stroke  of  the  half-hour,  however,  both 
coffee-bearer  and  bread  distributor  vanished  from  the  scene. 
There  was  no  breakfast  for  late- comers,  and  not  a  mouthful 

3 


GERMAN    MEMORIES 

to  eat  until  a  quarter  to  ten,  when  another  variety  of  white 
roll — this  time  supposed  to  be  covered  with  butter — was 
distributed  among  the  boys  in  the  playground.  The  day 
pupils  put  in  an  appearance  at  seven  o'clock  in  the  summer 
and  at  eight  in  the  winter,  and  many  a  time  have  I  waited  at 
the  gate  to  catch  sight  of  two  English  boys  of  the  name  of 
Sawyer  who  usually  brought  some  rolls  in  their  pocket,  which 
they  distributed  to  the  famished  boarders. 

The  dinner  consisted  of  soup,  drawn  from  stringy  beef  of 
inferior  quality,  which  was  served  up  afterwards  with  vege- 
tables ;  occasionally  veal  took  the  place  of  beef.  Such  was 
the  unappetising  character  of  this  meat  that  I  have  never  since 
been  able  to  touch  veal.  The  Sunday  dinner  was  a  banquet  in 
comparison,  for  it  comprised  a  single  helping  of  rostbraten 
(braised  beef)  and  vegetables,  followed  by  a  slice  of  cake. 
Dry  rolls  were  again  handed  us  at  tea-time.  The  supper, 
taken  at  eight  o'clock,  was  sometimes  a  smoked  herring,  or  a 
few  slices  of  cervelat  or  liver  sausage.  Many  times  have  I  slunk 
off  hungry  to  bed  rather  than  sit  down  to  this  apology  for  a 
repast.  Altogether  the  food  was  such  as  a  Munich  cab-driver 
would  reject ;  but,  poor  as  was  the  feast,  it  must  be  stated  in 
fairness  that  it  was  partaken  of  by  one  and  all,  the  headmaster 
and  his  family  included.  But  a  further  degree  of  privation 
formed  part  of  the  school  curriculum. 

The  punishment  inflicted  on  the  boys  even  for  the  slightest 
breach  of  discipline  was  the  deprivation  of  meals,  with  regard 
to  which  a  regular  scale  of  penalties  existed.  Thus,  for  boys 
of  the  higher  classes  a  standing  punishment  was  that  of  being 
locked  up  so  many  hours,  sometimes  for  a  whole  day,  in  an 
empty  school-room  with  bread  and  water.  To  be  deprived  of 
one's  dinner  or  supper  was  a  common  occurrence,  a  penalty 
which,  according  to  the  disposition  of  the  master  could  be 
inflicted  simply  for  exchanging  a  word  with  another  boy  dur- 
ing class  time,  let  alone  for  obstinacy,  disobedience  or  more 
serious  offences.  The  modiis  operandi  was  as  follows.  When 
the  dinner-bell  had  rung,  and  the  boys  had  already  taken  their 
seats  at  the  dinner  or  supper  table,  as  the  case  might  be,  an 
4 


SCHOOL    MEMORIES 

usher  came  in,  and,  walking  round  the  different  tables  with  a 
note-book  in  hand,  notified  to  the  different  boys  who  had  in- 
curred punishment  that  they  were  only  allowed  to  partake  of 
bread  and  water.  In  some  instances  the  indignity  of  standing 
up  during  dinner  was  added  to  the  penalty.  I  have  known 
a  French  boy  of  an  exceptionally  unruly  disposition  named 
Cogniet  to  be  deprived  of  his  dinner  every  other  day  of  the 
week,  and  to  have  scarcely  had  his  Sunday  dinner  once  in 
a  whole  term.  The  only  limitation  to  this  cruel  mode  of 
punishment  was  that  the  rules  of  the  school  forbade  a  boy 
to  be  deprived  of  his  dinner  two  days  running.  And  as  the 
Sunday  meal  was  the  only  one  in  the  week  to  which  we  looked 
forward,  and  the  deprivation  of  which  was  keenly  felt  by  us 
all,  we  were  only  too  glad  to  incur  the  penalty  of  going  with- 
out our  Saturday  dinner,  as  we  were  thereby  at  all  events 
assured  of  our  Sunday  dinner. 

The  sanitary  conditions  of  the  school  were  of  a  most 
primitive  character.  Not  a  single  bath  was  there  for  over  a 
hundred  boarders ;  in  the  summer,  it  is  true,  the  boys  bathed 
daily  in  the  Elbe ;  but  in  the  winter,  a  tiny  lavatory,  fitted  up 
with  a  Russian  vapour  apparatus,  was  all  the  accommodation 
provided  for  the  washing  of  the  sons  of  some  of  the  best 
families  of  the  country.  Once  a  fortnight  two  soldiers  from  the 
adjoining  Garde  Reiter  barracks  were  called  in  to  rub  the  boys 
dow^n  after  their  steaming.  With  little  or  no  ventilation  the 
primitive  sanitary  arrangements  spread  such  a  loathsome  smell 
throughout  the  sunless  building  that  I  can  only  wonder  to-day 
how  epidemics  were  not  chronic  among  us. 

The  inspector  came  round  during  the  dinner  hour  once  a 
week  to  distribute  the  pocket-money  among  the  pupils ;  it 
consisted  of  debased  silver  coins,  nearly  black  with  dirt.  The 
regular  amount  was  sixpence  ;  some  few  of  the  pupils  by 
special  arrangement  received  a  shilling,  which  was  the  largest 
sum  permitted.  It  was  against  the  rules  for  a  boy  to  have 
any  money  beyond  the  pocket  allowance  in  his  possession. 
Some  few  had  no  pocket  money  at  all,  members  of  the 
Vitzthum     family    being    in     this     category ;     others    had    no 

5 


GERMAN    MEMORIES 

holidays  throughout  the  year,  so  that  their  school  memories  in 
after  life  must  have  been  as  though  they  had  passed  their  youth 
in  what  was  little  better  than  a  penitentiary,  no  boarder  being 
allowed  to  leave  the  school  unless  in  the  company  of  a  master. 
It  will  be  readily  understood  that  such  a  rigorous  system 
nearly  broke  a  weak  character,  whilst  it  tended  to  harden 
those  who  were  strong  enough  to  bear  up  against  it.  I 
remember  when  I  first  went  there  from  a  luxurious  English 
home  I  used  to  cry  myself  to  sleep  at  night  for  weeks  at 
a  time.  After  a  life  of  many  vicissitudes,  rich  in  joy  and 
sorrow,  I  can  say  that  nothing  that  has  happened  to  me  in 
after  years  has  ever  given  me  such  a  thrill  of  ecstatic  joy  as 
I  experienced  when  one  day  I  was  called  up  before  the  head- 
master and  curtly  informed  that  my  father  had  arrived  from 
England  and  I  was  at  liberty  to  go  to  the  hotel  to  see  him. 
Yet  such  were  the  conditions  under  which  many  of  the  men 
were  brought  up  who  supplied  the  officers  to  an  army  which 
within  five  years  laid  Austria  and  France  in  the  dust. 

It  will  readily,  I  think,  be  believed  that  it  required  a  strong 
infusion  of  romance  to  be  able  to  look  back  with  affection  on 
a  time  associated  with  so  many  privations ;  for  to  boys 
nurtured  under  English  conditions  deprivation  of  liberty,  let 
alone  the  execrable  food,  embodied  hardship  of  no  mean  order. 
And  yet  for  many  of  us  a  deal  of  romance  was  undoubtedly 
connected  with  our  stay  at  the  Vitzthum  Gymnasium,  more 
particularly  so  among  the  German  and  Austrian  elements. 

The  Italian  War  of  1859  was  just  over  when  I  joined  the 
school,  and  the  German  boys  imbibed  their  sympathies  with 
regard  to  it  direct  from  their  homes.  There  was  a  strong 
partisanship  for  the  Austrians — notably  the  Tyrolese,  whose 
sharp-shooters  were  said  to  have  picked  off  the  French 
officers  at  Magenta  and  Solferino.  Altogether  there  existed  a 
chivalrous  feeling  of  kinship  with  Austria  among  the  boys, 
many  of  whom  still  looked  to  the  Kaiserstadt  (Vienna),  rather 
than  to  Berlin,  as  the  metropolis  of  their  race.  Austrian 
boys  who  had  belonged  to  the  school  included  young  Wiillers- 
dorf,  the  son  of  the  Austrian  admiral  who  had  command 
6 


SCHOOL    MEMORIES 

of  the  Austrian  Novara  expedition  round  the  world  (1857-9) 
— in  those  days  a  sensational  feat,  which,  to  the  youthful 
mind  as  I  knew  it  then,  redounded  to  the  credit  of  the 
German  race.  Young  Wiillersdorf  was  looked  upon  as  the 
son  of  a  national  hero,  as  a  son  of  Admiral  Tegethoff  might 
have  been  regarded  some  years  later  had  it  not  been  that  by 
that  time  the  war  of  1866  had  brought  about  a  cleavage  in 
the  feelings  of  the  two  great  branches  of  the  Germanic  family. 
A  feature  of  the  school,  as  well  as  of  that  particular 
period,  was  the  admiration  for  England  and  everything 
English,  which  prevailed  everywhere.  The  battle  of  Waterloo 
was  then  scarcely  more  remote  than  is  the  surrender  of  Sedan 
to-day,  and  the  English  enjoyed  in  this  respect  a  similar  pres- 
tige to  that  with  which  the  Germans  have  been  invested  since 
1870.  The  prize  fight  between  Heenan  and  Sayers  took 
place  at  Farnborough  about  this  time,  and  was  discussed 
among  the  young  in  Germany  very  much  in  the  same  spirit  in 
which  the  encounter  between  Hector  and  Achilles  is  regarded. 
It  was  tacitly  admitted  that  only  England  could  have  pro- 
duced such  a  hero  as  the  Sussex  bricklayer,  Tom  Sayers. 
Admiration  was  further  aroused  by  the  great  popularity  of  the 
novels  of  Sir  Walter  Scott,  especially  "  Ivanhoe."  The  figure 
of  Richard  Cceur  de  Lion,  attuned  to  music  in  Marschner's 
"  Templar  and  Jewess,"  provided  an  English  hero  whose 
prowess  was  re-echoed  from  every  German  opera  stage  in  the 
stirring  air  beginning  with  the  words : 

Du  stolzes  England  freue  Dich 
Dein  Richard  hoch  und  ritterlich.  i 

The  English   peer,  the  "  Milord,"  was  the   supreme  embodi- 
ment of  wealth  and  dignity. 

Of  far  more  importance,  however,  than  these  influences  were 
the  great  English  names  in  science  and  mechanical  invention 
which  wxre  constantly  before  us  in  the  course  of  lectures  on 
chemistry  and  physics,  given  in  a  special  laboratory  fitted  up 
with  every  appliance  for  illustrations  by  practical  experiments. 

1  "Rejoice,  proud  England,  o'er  thy  knightly  King  Richard." 


GERMAN    MEMORIES 

The  epoch-making  German  and  French  discoveries,  the  Ameri- 
can inventions  of  the  second  half  of  the  nineteenth  century, 
had  yet  to  be  made.  Thus  most  of  the  leading  names  con- 
nected with  science  or  mechanics  were  those  of  Englishmen  : 
Harvey  and  Jenner,  Priestley  and  Faraday,  Watt  and  Stephen- 
son, Wheatstone  and  Cooke,  were  the  pioneers  of  scientific 
progress,  and  the  nation  which  had  produced  them  excited 
boundless  admiration.  Another  feature  which  tended  to 
emphasise  English  superiority  was  the  inferior  quality  of  many 
German  goods  at  that  time  when  compared  with  English. 
Anything  thai?  came  from  England  was  on  this  account  alone 
sure  to  be  considered  superior,  and  indeed  was  so  in  many 
cases — for  instance  :  cutlery,  skates,  leather  goods,  clothes, 
silk  goods,  guns,  writing  materials,  such  as  paper,  pens  and 
pencils,  sealing-wax,  chemists'  specialities,  &c.  The  phrase 
"  Made  in  Germany  "  was  not  yet  current,  but  the  mere  word 
"  English "  applied  to  any  article  whatsoever  was  a  sufficient 
warrant  of  its  supreme  quality. 

Ample  opportunity  was  afforded  us  in  our  little  cosmo- 
politan world  to  observe  certain  idiosyncrasies  of  national 
character  which  I  have  had  manifold  occasions  to  verify  in 
after  life.  The  Russians,  including  members  of  the  aristo- 
cratic families  of  Czartorisky,  Galitzin,  Maximowitch,  and 
Stolypin,  as  well  as  the  Roumanians  (in  those  days  Walla- 
chians  and  Moldavians),  among  whom  were  the  Princes 
Stourdza  and  Souzo,  evinced  as  boys  the  same  characteristics 
which  I  have  since  often  observed  in  them.  They  were  im- 
patient under  restraint,  passionate,  more  or  less  inclined  to 
eccentricity,  extravagance,  and  oriental  love  of  finery.  Prince 
Souzo,  a  dark,  full-bearded,  swarthy  young  fellow,  when  he  got 
leave  to  go  into  the  town,  used  to  borrow  of  me  a  silk  cravat 
and  a  gold  pin  which  my  father  had  given  me,  and  would  wear 
them  as  his  own.  The  school  numbered  among  its  pupils  sons 
of  many  noble  German  families,  and  of  these  were  some  of  the 
most  powerfully  built  youths  I  have  ever  met,  although  in 
those  days  the  cultivation  of  sport  and  games  as  we  know 
them  now,  as  distinct  from  systematic  physical  training,  was 
8 


SCHOOL    MEMORIES 

practically  unheard  of ;  of  games,  a  variety  of  American  base- 
ball was  about  the  only  speciality  indulged  in.  Yet,  although 
an  admiration  of  physical  strength  and  pluck  was  quite  a 
cult  among  us,  during  the  whole  of  the  time  I  was  in  Dresden 
I  cannot  recall  a  single  instance  of  what  is  known  in  England 
as  "  bullying."  I  do  not  remember  a  case  in  which  the  strong 
among  us  abused  their  power  by  striking  or  exacting  humilia- 
ting service  from  smaller  boys.  Many  years  afterwards  I  met 
one  whose  physical  force  was  a  school  tradition  in  my  time 
— Major  von  Mutius,  of  the  Prussian  Garde  du  Corps.  He 
was  one  of  the  German  officers  who  entered  Sedan  with  a  flag 
of  truce  on  the  day  of  surrender — a  giant  in  stature.  Once, 
when  shooting  with  him  in  Silesia,  I  reminded  him  of  his 
schoolboy  reputation  for  physical  prowess,  and  he  told  me  in 
reply  that  it  had  been  a  source  of  satisfaction  to  him  in  after 
life  to  look  back  upon  the  time  when  as  a  boy  he  had  used 
his  strength  only  to  protect  the  weak.  He,  too,  alas ! 
although  not  much  older  than  myself,  has  long  passed  away. 

A  strict  code  of  honour  prevailed  among  the  boys.  In 
case  of  quarrels  a  regular  challenge  to  pugilistic  encounter 
was  given,  accepted,  and  fought  out  either  on  the  spot  or 
later  by  appointment,  and  although  the  noble  art  of  self- 
defence  as  practised  in  Anglo-Saxon  countries  was  not  scienti- 
fically taught  or  well  understood,  the  great  physical  strength 
and  high  courage  prevalent,  particularly  among  the  older  boys, 
made  these  encounters  by  no  means  trivial  affairs.  They  were 
fought  out  until  one  side  admitted  defeat.  I  have  seen  boys 
who  had  been  through  a  fight  whose  faces  were  battered 
almost  beyond  recognition.  The  punishment  for  such  severe 
breaches  of  discipline  was  incarceration  on  bread  and  water, 
but  etiquette  imposed  silence  on  all  sides  with  regard  to 
these  combats.  The  small  boys  looked  up  with  wonder  to 
the  fighters  in  the  light  of  Homeric  heroes.  A  fight 
which  in  my  time  held  the  premier  position  in  the  traditions 
of  the  school  was  one  which  had  taken  place  before  I  had 
joined,  between  a  Wallachian  named  Gregoriady  and  an 
English  youth  named  Mills,  from  Lancashire.     The  latter  had 

9 


GERMAN    MEMORIES 

left  the  school  before  I  entered  it,  but  Gregoriady,  a  black- 
bearded  Roumanian,  rather  short,  but  of  enormous  muscular 
power,  was  still  a  pupil.  He  was  always  practising  at  the 
parallel  and  horizontal  bars,  and  the  bulging-out  muscles  of 
his  arms  and  shoulders,  like  those  of  a  circus  athlete,  were  the 
admiration  of  us  all.  The  story  went  that  Gregoriady,  in  the 
arrogance  of  his  might,  had  intentionally  provoked  a  cjuarrel 
with  the  English  boy.  One  morning  matters  came  to  a  crisis 
in  the  breakfast-room.  The  Englishman,  although  not  so 
muscular,  was  a  far  cleverer  fighter,  and  handled  his  Walla- 
chian  opponent  so  severely  that  the  floor  was  bespattered  with 
blood  before  the  fight  could  be  stopped.  Gregoriady  was 
battered  almost  beyond  recognition,  and  was  obliged  to  take 
to  his  bed  before  his  features  resumed  their  normal  appearance, 
whilst  the  English  boy  was  hardly  marked.  The  story  was 
familiar  to  every  boy  in  the  school,  but  such  was  the  delicacy 
of  feeling  prevalent  that  it  was  never  afterwards  referred  to  in 
the  presence  of  the  defeated  champion.  Defeat  did  not  expose 
to  ridicule,  much  less  did  it  imply  dishonour,  among  these  sons 
of  continental  patricians.  True  to  the  best  German  traditions, 
there  was  always  respect  for  an  antagonist. 

Speaking  from  memory,  I  can  say  that  the  English,  French 
and  Roumanians  were  the  most  quarrelsome.  The  Germans 
were  the  most  peaceable,  although,  as  regards  physical 
strength,  their  elite,  von  Mutius,  Stein,  and  the  two  brothers 
Stumpfeldt,  were  by  far  the  doughtiest  pupils  of  the  school. 
Indeed,  the  tradition  of  their  prowess  lived  on  long  after  they 
had  left.  Altogether,  there  was  something  of  the  Siegfried 
nature  in  these  sturdy  Teutons  of  gigantic  build.  They  would 
keep  away  from  the  rest  of  the  school  in  their  free  time,  and 
seek  that  solitude  among  the  trees  which  the  poets  associate 
with  the  reveries  of  young  German  manhood.  None  of  these 
strong  Germans  ever  to  my  knowledge  ill-used  a  small  boy ; 
indeed,  the  awe  they  inspired  often  prevented  big  boys  of 
other  nationalities  from  indulging  their  own  innate  bullying 
propensities. 

The  Napoleonic  legend  still  had  a  strong  hold  over  the 
10 


SCHOOL    MEMORIES 

imagination  of  the  young,  as  well  as  the  older  generation  of 
Saxons  in  those  days.  Several  of  the  boys  were  the  sons  or 
grandsons  of  Saxon  officers,  who  had  served  in  Napoleon's 
can)paigns.  There  was  one  of  my  own  age  at  the  College, 
von  Aimer  by  name,  who  boasted  a  huge  telescope,  which  he 
told  us  his  father  had  carried  across  the  Beresina  in  the  retreat 
from  Russia. 

An  old  Saxon  General  von  Zetteritz  used  to  dine  at  the 
table-d'hote  of  the  Stadt  Berlin  ;  he  had  been  through  the 
Russian  campaign  of  1812  with  Napoleon,  and  was  among 
those  who  crossed  the  Beresina  with  the  French  fugitives.  As, 
with  his  long,  flowing  white  beard,  he  stood  up  looking  round 
the  dining-room,  it  was  as  if  a  vision  of  that  dire  catastrophe 
had  risen  before  us.  And  yet  he  was  an  enthusiastic  admirer 
of  Napoleon.  I  remember  also  an  old  Count  Holtzendorf,  who 
used  to  limp  about  the  streets  of  Dresden  leaning  on  a  stick. 
He  wore  the  Cross  of  the  Legion  of  Honour,  conferred  upon 
him  by  Napoleon  HI.  in  memory  of  his  loyal  conduct  at  the 
battle  of  Leipzig,  when,  as  a  young  Saxon  lieutenant,  he  re- 
fused to  join  his  countrymen  who  went  over  to  the  Allies  on 
that  memorable  occasion.  He  remained  true  to  his  Sovereign 
who  fought  on  the  side  of  Napoleon  and  was  taken  prisoner. 
Years  afterwards,  when  the  Saxon  King,  restored  to  his  domin- 
ions, passed  out  of  his  palace  in  Dresden  and  saw  young 
Holtzendorf  on  guard  duty,  he  would  make  a  point  of  raising 
his  hat  to  him  as  a  tribute  of  respect  for  his  fidelity  to  his 
Sovereign  in  adversity. 

On  our  Sunday  walks  we  would  go  to  the  heights  of  Riick- 
nitz,  where,  shaded  by  trees,  a  granite  block  was  to  be  seen, 
surmounted  by  a  huge  Grecian  helmet  in  bronze,  bearing  the 
inscription,  "  Here  fell  the  hero  Moreau."  This  was  in  memory 
of  the  French  General  of  that  name,  the  victor  of  Hohen- 
linden  (1799),  who  in  1813  fought  on  the  side  of  the  Allies 
against  Napoleon,  and  was  killed  at  the  battle  of  Dresden  on 
the  27th  of  August  in  that  year,  struck  by  a  cannon  ball  whilst 
standing  close  to  the  Emperor  Alexander.  It  was  said  that 
Napoleon  himself  pointed  the  gun  which  fired  the  fatal  shot. 

11 


GERMAN    MEMORIES 

By  far  the  most  pleasing  features  of  the  school — probably 
due  to  the  teaching  of  Pestalozzi — were  the  Whitsuntide  and 
summer  walking  tours,  undertaken  by  the  boys  in  charge  of 
the  masters.  At  Whitsuntide  these  jaunts  lasted  about  ten 
days,  and  in  the  summer  between  three  and  four  weeks,  when 
the  itinerary  was  extended  as  far  as  Switzerland,  and  e\"en  into 
Northern  Italy,  and  all  this  at  an  incredibly  small  cost.  I 
can  recall  a  trip  lasting  ten  days,  the  amount  debited  to 
the  account  of  each  pupil  scarcely  exceeding  £2.  These 
tours  were  looked  forward  to  with  delight,  and  discussed  by 
the  boys  weeks,  even  months,  ahead.  When  the  day  came, 
and  pigskin  knapsacks  were  distributed  all  round,  and  we 
started  for  the  railway  station,  it  was  a  scene  of  great 
excitement.  Once  clear  of  the  neighbourhood  of  Dresden  the 
walking  began,  the  distance  covered  being  from  eighteen  to 
twenty  miles  a  day.  Sometimes  farmers'  waggons  were  hired, 
in  case  the  road  should  prove  to  be  too  long  for  the 
stragglers,  the  weaker  among  the  boys.  It  occasionally 
happened  that  a  town  chosen  for  a  halt  for  the  night  did  not 
possess  an  inn  large  enough  to  harbour  between  thirty  or 
forty  new  arrivals.  In  such  cases  a  shakedown  on  straw,  in 
some  concert  or  assembly  room,  which  almost  every  German 
village  contains — even  churches  figured  among  our  resting- 
places — would  do  duty  for  the  occasion,  with  a  wash  in  the 
morning  at  the  fountain  in  the  market-place. 

The  educational  value  of  these  tours  lay  in  the  spirit  in 
which  they  were  conducted.  As  we  trudged  along  the  road 
on  a  fine  spring  morning  one  of  the  masters  would  produce 
a  book  of  German  student  songs,  and  with  a  tuning-fork 
lead  the  singing,  in  which  all  joined  with  effect,  as  the 
training  of  the  voice,  as  well  as  gymnastics,  dancing,  and 
fencing,  belonged  to  the  regular  school  curriculum.  The 
masters  in  charge  were  usually  well  versed  in  geography, 
geology,  mineralogy,  botany,  and  other  natural  sciences,  and 
drew  the  boys'*  attention  to  such  facts  as  would  be  likely  to 
quicken  their  interest  and  increase  their  knowledge.  The 
varied  and  attractive  nature  of  the  Saxon  scenery,  forest-clad 
12 


SCHOOL    MEMORIES 

hills,  and  valleys  with  limpid  streams,  lent  itself  admirably  to 
such  a  purpose.  The  journey  was  mapped  out  so  as  to  touch 
as  many  points  of  interest  as  possible  on  the  route  chosen. 
Thus,  in  passing  Bautzen,  the  victory  of  Napoleon  in  1813 
became  the  theme  of  interest  and  instruction  ;  at  Hochkirk, 
the  defeat  of  Frederick  the  Great.  From  Zittau  we  crossed 
over  the  frontier  into  Bohemia  and  visited  the  far-famed 
castle  of  Friedland,  once  the  property  of  Wallenstein,  of 
Thirty  Years  War  renown.  Museums,  town-halls,  and  old 
chateaux  were  visited,  and  their  characteristics  explained. 
Now  and  then  we  were  entertained  at  the  country  seat  of 
some  family  a  member  of  which  was  among  our  fellow 
pupils.  Nor  were  commerce  and  industry  neglected,  although 
scarcely  any  of  the  boys  were  intended  for  such  a  career.  A 
point  was  made  of  inspecting  notable  manufactories  on  our 
road,  the  working  of  which  was  explained  to  the  boys.  At 
Tharandt  we  would  visit  the  Academy  of  Forestry  which  has 
been  a  model  of  instruction  for  the  whole  world.  At  Freiberg 
the  working  of  the  silver  mines  was  explained  to  us.  At 
Chemnitz — the  German  Manchester,  which  has  quadrupled  the 
number  of  its  inhabitants — it  was  the  cotton  mills,  and  I  can 
distinctly  remember  being  struck  by  the  order  and  cleanliness 
of  the  workpeople.  These  journeys  left  a  lasting  influence  on 
the  mind  of  many  of  the  pupils ;  stimulating  and  widening 
their  sympathies  and  increasing  their  knowledge,  as  I  can 
gratefully  testify  after  this  lapse  of  time.  They  were,  besides, 
a  splendid  physical  training.  Altogether  physical  culture 
formed  a  vital  part  of  the  curriculum,  being  a  striking  contrast 
to  the  unhealthy  conditions  of  the  school  itself ;  for  although, 
as  already  stated,  competitive  games  such  as  football  were 
comparatively  neglected,  systematic  physical  culture  was 
carried  on  as  distinct  from  the  present  cosmopolitan  mania 
for  sport.  Gymnastic  classes — including  fencing — were  held 
regularly  in  the  summer  in  the  open,  for  part  of  the  play- 
ground was  reserved  for  horizontal  and  parallel  bars,  wooden 
horses,  jumping  boards  and  other  gymnastic  apparatus,  long 
before   these   were   introduced    into    other    countries.      From 

13 


GERMAN    MEMORIES 

the  playground  the  boys  witnessed  through  a  railing  the  daily 
exercises  of  the  Blue  Guards  in  the  riding-school  immediately 
adjoining  the  school,  where  those  of  the  pupils  whose  parents 
wished  it  took  riding-lessons  under  the  tuition  of  a  sergeant 
for  a  small  charge ;  this  was  almost  the  only  extra  item  of 
the  modest  fees,  which,  including  board  and  tuition,  scarcely 
exceeded  those  of  a  daily  boarder  in  a  London  public  school. 

The  headmaster  of  the  school  (called  "  Rector ""  or 
"  Director  "),  Professor  Dr.  Bezzenberger,  was  the  most  typical 
example  of  the  stern  German  pedagogue  I  have  ever  met.  He 
was,  indeed,  a  distinguished  representative  of  the  far-famed 
German  schoolmen  ;  those  who  for  generations  past  had  been 
the  educators  of  a  people  which  was  about  to  prove  itself  to  be 
the  best-schooled  nation  in  the  world.  All  their  energies  were 
devoted  to  the  task  they  had  undertaken,  the  instruction  of  youth, 
the  inculcating  of  that  high  standard  of  life  in  their  pupils 
with  which  they  themselves  were  imbued.  No  self-seeking, 
worldly  ambitions,  no  social  vanities  warped  their  energies  or 
took  them  away  from  this  one  supreme  object  of  their  lives. 
Dr.  Bezzenberger  was  truly  the  embodiment  of  the  highest 
earthly  authority  for  us  all  ;  even  the  stalwart  Germans, 
Russians  and  Roumanians  quailed  when  they  heard  his  shrill 
voice  in  anger,  or  when  they  unexpectedly  met  his  tall  spare 
figure  coming  along  the  corridors.  These,  however,  were  rare 
occasions ;  he  was  not  often  visible,  and  his  usual  tone  of  voice 
was  subdued,  the  words  slowly  drawn  out  as  if  struggling  for 
utterance.  In  after  life,  when  I  first  saw  Camphausen's  picture 
of  Frederick  the  Great  on  horseback  at  the  battle  of  Leuthen, 
waving  his  crooked  stick,  I  could  understand  something  of  the 
terror  with  which  he  must  have  inspired  his  surroundings  by 
finding  how  much  he  resembled  my  old  schoolmaster. 

He  had  married  the  daughter  of  the  famous  Blochmann, 
and  thus  had  inherited  the  position  of  his  father-in-law  as 
headmaster.  Mrs.  Bezzenberger  was  a  sweet,  womanly 
apparition,  the  very  antithesis  of  her  imperious  lord  in 
temperament.  She  was  kindness  itself  to  the  boys  when, 
through  illness,  they  were  sent  to  the  school  infirmary 
14 


SCHOOL    MEMORIES 

and  relegated  to  her  care.  She  appeared  to  us  roughly 
treated  boys  little  less  than  an  angel  of  charity  when,  with 
her  slight  figure  and  finely  cut  features,  peeping  out  bene- 
volently from  an  old-fashioned  lace  cap,  in  her  soft  voice,  yet 
with  a  certain  quiet  tone  of  authority,  she  would  ask  what  she 
could  do  for  us.  For,  unless  ill,  we  were  never  allowed  an 
opportunity  of  approaching  her  or  her  daughters  within 
speaking  distance.  We  saw  her  only  as  she  flitted  in  and  out 
of  the  dining  room,  carrying  a  small  housekeeper's  reticule, 
followed  by  a  couple  of  plain  daughters. 

After  the  war  of  1866,  in  passing  through  Dresden,  I 
called  on  my  old  schoolmaster,  who  had  retired  into  private 
life  ;  two  of  his  sons,  fine  specimens  of  virile  Saxon  manhood, 
both  of  them  schoolfellows  of  mine,  had  fallen  in  the  war  ; 
one  was  killed  at  Custozza,  fighting  as  an  officer  in  the 
Austrian  army,  the  other  with  the  Saxon  contingent  at 
Koeniggraetz.  Never  have  I  seen  such  an  expression  of 
passionate  grief,  such  implacable  resentment  in  a  human  face. 
There  could  be  no  reconciliation  with  the  new  order  of  things 
for  such  as  he.  To  his  thinking,  and  that  of  many  other 
Saxons  at  that  time,  the  action  of  Prussia  was  a  crime — an 
enormity  not  less  criminal  because  crowned  with  success. 
There  was  a  trace  of  antique  grandeur  about  this  old  man, 
the  evening  of  whose  life  was  thus  blasted,  but  who,  in  his 
stern,  imposing  personality,  has,  as  far  as  I  know,  had  no 
successor. 

Many  years  afterwards,  in  the  autumn  of  1903,  I  received 
an  invitation  from  the  Rector  of  the  Vitzthum  Gymnasium  to 
be  present  in  the  following  January  at  the  inauguration  of  the 
new  school  which  was  to  be  taken  over  henceforth  by  the 
Dresden  Municipality.  I  went  from  England  expressly  for 
the  purpose,  and  spent  several  pleasant  days  in  recalling  old 
times  in  the  company  of  those  who  had  had  a  share  in  them. 
Nothing,  however,  brought  home  to  me  so  vividly  the  many 
changes  Germany  has  undergone  in  the  course  of  the  last  fifty 
years  as  this  experience.  In  the  first  place,  there  were  only 
two  present  of  all  my  former  schoolfellows,  one  of  whom  was 

15 


GERMAN    MEMORIES 

General  Count  Alexander  Vitzthum,  in  command  of  the  Saxon 
army  corps,  the  XII.  of  the  German  army.  Many  others  of 
my  time  were  dead ;  twenty-five  pupils  of  the  school  lost 
their  lives  in  the  wars  of  1866  and  1870,  an  extremely 
high  percentage.  The  contrast  between  the  dilapidated  old 
college,  with  its  sunless  aspect,  its  dingy  quarters  and 
awful  smells,  about  to  be  demolished,  and  the  beautiful 
airy  and  sanitary  new  structure  suggested  the  enormous 
material  improvements  which  had  taken  place  in  connection 
with  public  and  private  buildings  all  over  Germany,  and 
not  least  in  Dresden.  Gloomy  streets,  even  those  in  which 
the  upper  classes  lived,  and  into  which  a  ray  of  sunlight 
rarely  penetrated,  explained  the  high  death-rate  prevailing 
throughout  German  towns  in  other  days.  These  have  been 
replaced  by  rows  of  palatial  buildings,  modern  residences  replete 
with  every  comfort  of  up-to-date  life. 

So  great  is  the  change  that,  although  I  had  stayed  in  Dresden 
on  and  off  for  different  periods  through  nearly  thirty  years,  I 
hardly  recognised  whole  quarters  of  the  town.  But  even  more 
than  the  buildings  the  change  in  the  people  impressed  me. 
It  embodied  the  transmutation  of  a  time  which  had  passed, 
and  is  not  likely  to  return,  even  for  those  who  may  succeed  us. 
The  simple  habits.  God-fearing  sincerity  and  sirnplicity,  are  no 
longer  characteristic  of  any  class  of  the  time  we  live  in.  The 
German  upper  classes  are  no  longer  brought  up  in  that  spirit 
of  reverence  and  frugality  which  was  general  fifty  years  ago. 
Those  that  I  saw  appeared  to  have  become  fossilised  with 
the  bourgeoisie  rising  upon  the  debris.  The  King  (George) 
was  present  at  the  ceremony  of  inauguration,  but  his  impas- 
sive frigidity  on  an  occasion  which  might  well  have  evoked 
a  few  sympathetic  words  from  him  was  remarked  by  those 
present.  He  might  as  well  have  been  one  of  the  Chinese 
mandarin  figures  in  the  Royal  china  collection  for  all  the 
active  part  he  took  in  the  proceedings.  Among  persons  of 
distinction  the  only  one  who  seemed  to  belong  to  the  present 
time  was  the  husband  of  the  Queen  of  Holland — Duke  Henry 
of  Mecklenburg,  an  old  Vitzthum  scholar.  He  went  round, 
16 


SCHOOL    MEMORIES 

and  without  any  preliminary  presentation,  whether  he  knew 
others  or  not,  shook  hands  with  those  who,  like  himself,  had 
been  at  the  school.  After  we  had  listened  to  a  flatulent 
address  to  the  King,  perpetrated  by  a  representative  of  the 
Vitzthum  family,  the  Ober-Biirgermeister  of  Dresden,  Geheimer 
Finanzrat  Beutler  addressed  the  assembly,  the  King  included, 
in  a  dignified,  straightforward  speech.  It  was  the  utterance 
of  a  man  who  is  conscious  that  he  stands  for  a  reality — in  his 
case,  the  power  and  worth  of  the  German  people  ;  to  whom,  if 
I  mistake  not,  rather  than  to  kings  and  nobles,  the  decisive 
word  in  the  future  affairs  of  Germany  belongs. 


17 


CHAFIER  II 

BEFORE   1870 

If  there  is  one  contrast  between  the  Germany  of  to-day 
and  that  of  fifty  years  ago  which,  next  to  the  altered 
aspect  of  German  towns,  must  strike  any  one,  it  is  the 
change  which  has  taken  place  in  the  economical  habits  and 
conditions  of  the  community.  Frugality  may  be  said  to 
have  been  formerly  inculcated  in  the  nursery  and  to  have 
been  rigidly  practised  through  life  by  all  classes.  That  this 
was  so  in  the  matter  of  the  education  of  the  aristocracy  is, 
I  think,  evident  from  the  contents  of  the  last  chapter.  But 
even  among  reigning  families  economy  was  the  order  of  the 
day.  The  Empress  Augusta  was  wont  to  declare  that  her 
lack  of  physical  stamina  was  a  result  of  bad  nourishment  in 
her  childhood,  in  which  a  cheap  vegetable  known  as  "  skirret "" 
(Schwarzwurzel)  played  a  prominent  part,  and  for  which  she 
ever  afterwards  retained  a  dislike. 

Professor  Hans  Delbrueck,  in  his  Reminiscences^  of  the 
time  when  he  was  tutor  in  the  family  of  the  Crown  Prince 
of  Prussia,  later  Emperor  Frederick,  relates  the  following 
characteristic  incident.  One  day  at  dinner  the  Crown 
Princess  asked  the  butler  whether  the  ApoUinaris  water 
which  she  had  ordered  had  come.  "  Yes,  your  Imperial 
Highness,"  he  replied,  "  but  we  must  first  drink  the  soda 
water  we  have  in  stock."  This  was  going  too  far  even  for 
the  good-natured  Crown  Prince,  and  he  administered  a 
severe  rebuke  to  the  man.  This  took  place  after  the 
Franco-Prussian    War ;    but  for  all    that   the  butler's  remark 

1  Persordiche  Erinnerungen  an  den  Eaiser  Frlcdiicli  und  sein  Ilatoi,  Hans 
Dclbrveck.    Berlin,  1888. 

18 


BEFORE    1870 

was  illustrative    of    a  state  of    things   which  had    long   been 
prevalent  throughout  Germany. 

Material  comforts  which  were  the  common  property  of 
the  well-to-do  in  France  and  England  were  only  known  to 
the  few  in  Germany  fifty  years  ago.  What  was  luxury  in 
Paris  or  London  was  almost  unknown  in  Berlin,  Dresden  or 
Munich.  Even  after  the  War  of  1870  the  installation  of 
some  tiled  baths  in  the  Hotel  de  Rome  at  Berlin,  such  as 
are  to  be  seen  everywhere  to-day,  created  quite  a  sensation 
and  excited  the  envy  of  the  old  Emperor  William,  for  he 
had  nothing  like  them  in  his  palace.  In  thousands  of 
families,  many  of  acknowledged  social  position,  roast  meat 
was  a  rarity  seen  only  once  a  week,  on  Sunday's  bill  of  fare. 
Dinner  was  almost  universally  taken  in  the  middle  of  the 
day,  and  consisted  of  soup  and  stringy  boiled  beef,  so-called 
"  Suppenfleisch,"  from  which  the  soup  had  been  taken ; 
supper,  of  cold  odds  and  ends.     Tea  and  oranges  were  luxuries. 

The  traveller  who  went  from  England  to  Dresden,  and 
who  smoked  a  Havana  cigar  which  might  have  cost  sixpence 
in  London,  was  looked  upon  in  amazement  as  a  millionaire 
by  the  local  notabilities.  The  Crown  Prince,  afterwards 
King  Albert,  smoked  "  weeds "  at  only  three  farthings  a 
piece.  To-day  cigars  at  half  a  crown  and  five  shillings 
each  are  not  unknown  at  first-class  hotels  and  restaurants, 
and  there  are  places  in  Berlin  where  the  wine  list  exceeds 
in  variety  of  choice  and  high  prices  anything  to  be  met  with 
either  in  Paris  or  London. 

The  railways  were  in  a  comparatively  backward  state. 
Although  the  German  second-class  carriages  were  even  in 
those  days  as  comfortable  as  the  first  in  England,  there 
was  nothing  to  compare  with  the  English  express  service 
between  London,  Liverpool,  Manchester  and  Scotland.  The 
journey  from  Frankfort  to  Dresden  took  about  eighteen 
hours:  the  train  went  only  as  far  as  Leipzig,  where  the 
traveller  arrived  in  the  night  and  was  obliged  to  take  a 
ghostly  vehicle — a  night  droschky — and  drive  from  one 
station  to  the  other ;  then  recline  on  a  bench  in  a  pestilent 

19 


GERMAN    MEMORIES 

smoking  room  reeking  of  stale  tobacco,  until,  after  a  delay 
of  several  hours,  a  slow  train,  stopping  at  every  station,  took 
him  on  to  Dresden.  On  the  further  journey  from  Dresden 
to  Lower  Silesia  the  railway  went  only  as  far  as  Goerlitz. 
There  the  traveller  would  put  up  for  the  night,  starting 
early  in  the  morning  by  post,  with  the  whole  day  before  him, 
to  reach  his  destination  in  the  evening — a  mode  of  travel- 
ling little  different  from  that  in  vogue  in  previous  centuries. 
Only  wealthy  people  were  supposed  to  travel  by  "  extra 
post,"  a  cumbersome  arrangement  necessitating  a  change  of 
horses  and  carriage  at  every  stage  of  from  twelve  to  fifteen 
miles.  The  traveller  was  compelled  to  remain  in  a  cold  waiting 
room  until  all  the  necessary  arrangements  were  complete — 
the  making  out  of  the  "  way-bill "  for  so  much  per  mile  and 
grease  for  the  wheels,  "  grease  money ''  being  charged  separately 
in  case — as  was  expressly  stated  on  the  archaic  printed  form — 
"  the  use  of  such  had  been  actually  called  for."  Everything 
bore  an  exact  and  official  imprimatur,  down  to  the  printed 
bill  of  fare  displayed  in  the  waiting  room  on  which  prices 
for  every  article  were  regulated  to  the  half-farthing  under 
Government  seal — the  Prussian  eagle  affixed  and  dated. 
When  everything  was  ready  and  the  ostler  tipped,  the 
postillion  would  blow  his  horn  as  we  rumbled  over  the 
rough  pavement  and  again  on  to  the  high  road.  As  we 
neared  the  first  toll-bar  gate  the  postillion  would  again 
sound  his  horn,  and  the  gate  flew  open  at  the  approach  of 
the  "  Royal  Extra  Post,"  the  obligatory  toll-tax  being 
already  included  in  the  way-bill.  Those  who  could  not 
affiard  the  luxury  of  the  "extra  post"  were  obliged  to  travel 
by  the  ordinary  "  post,"  which  started  twice  daily  and 
lumbered  on  all  night.  Horses  were  changed  at  every  stage,  but 
the  passengers  remained  in  the  same  conveyance.  They  were 
packed,  herring  fashion,  in  a  cumbersome  old  yellow  coach,  with 
all  the  windows  closed  ;  the  demand  for  an  open  window  involving 
the  dreaded  possibility  of  a  draught,  a  noisy  altercation,  and 
possibly  a  challenge  to  mortal  combat — contingencies  which 
are  still  among  the  chances  of  travel  in  Germany  to-day. 
20 


BEFORE    1870 

Another  vexation  of  travel  was  the  currency,  which  varied 
according  to  the  territory  traversed ;  so  that  it  happened 
that  in  the  course  of  a  day's  journey  it  changed  three  or 
four  times  from  thalers  to  florins  and  back  again.  In  Austria 
the  currency  consisted  of  dirty  paper  money,  which,  after 
the  War  of  ^66,  sank  25  per  cent,  in  value.  Prussia  could 
at  least  boast  of  possessing  a  silver  coinage  of  a  fairly  high 
standard;  but  the  small  silver,  the  so-called  Scheidemiinze — 
which  Frederick  the  Great  in  his  financial  stress,  had 
debased  beyond  recognition  as  silver — was  noted  for  the 
layer  of  black  dirt  which  covered  its  margin  and  entirely 
concealed  the  Latin  inscription  of  the  name  of  the  par- 
ticular monarch  and  the  obligatory  "  Dei  Gratise  "  by  virtue 
of  which  he  was  supposed  to  rule.  This  element  of  dirt  was 
even  more  conspicuous  on  the  paper  money,  covering  as  it 
did  the  whole  surface  of  the  paper.  Fortunately  for  most 
of  us  the  microscope  and  bacteriological  science  had  not 
then  unveiled  the  unknown  terrors  of  the  bacterian  world. 
Thus,  on  receiving  and  spending  our  media  of  exchange, 
we  were  happily  unaware  that  we  were  handling  millions  of 
infectious  parasites  to  the  square  millimetre  and  possibly 
propagating  infectious  diseases.  Gold  coins  were  only  in 
evidence  in  a  money-changer's  window,  or  on  the  gaming 
tables  of  Homburg,  Wiesbaden  and  Baden-Baden.  Many 
people  had  never  seen  a  gold  piece !  The  name  of  Frederic- 
d'Or,  as  a  corollary  and  an  imitation  of  the  French  Louis  d'Or, 
survived  merely  as  a  figure  of  speech  ;  horse-dealers  sold  their 
horses  for  so  many  Frederic-d'Ors,  but  were  paid  in  the  equi- 
valent of  thalers  and  silber-groschen.  The  only  gold  coin 
visible  in  some  parts  was  the  Austrian  ducat,  and  this  was 
explained  by  a  peculiar  circumstance.  Gold  was  used  in 
the  manufacture  of  rose-coloured  glass,  and  only  the  purest 
was  suitable;  even  British  sovereigns  were  not  pure  enough  for 
the  purpose.  The  Austrian  ducat  alone,  of  all  the  then 
existing  gold  coins  in  Europe,  possessed  the  requisite  standard, 
but  its  very  purity  and  consequent  softness  would  have  made 
it  a  bad  medium  of  exchange. 

21 


GERMAN    MEMORIES 

The  public  roads  in  Prussia,  thanks  to  a  paternal  Govern- 
ment, were  splendid,  probably  among  the  best  in  Europe. 
The  broad,  gravel-bedded  macadamised  chaussce  through  the 
Giant  Mountains,  for  instance,  with  square  granite  blocks 
placed  at  short  intervals  along  the  road  to  prevent  carriages 
from  falling  over  the  precipitous  ridge  into  the  rushing  stream 
below,  was  a  magnificent  engineering  feat  for  the  period.  It 
traversed  wild  gorges,  brought  the  Hirschberg  valley  into 
direct  communication  with  the  loftier  mountain  range,  thence 
winding  its  way  through  them  over  the  Prussian  frontier  into 
Bohemia. 

The  Prussian  Government  and  some  of  the  Sovereign 
Princes  were  almost  the  only  patrons  of  the  arts,  for  the 
aristocracy  hardly  counted  at  all  as  such.  Count  Schack,  who 
paid  such  masters  as  Boecklin  and  Lenbach  at  the  rate  of  £2 
a  week  for  their  work  (!),  was  the  exception  marking  the  rule. 
The  only  evidence  of  aristocratic  patronage  of  the  pictorial 
arts  I  can  remember  to  have  seen  in  early  days  were  some 
reproductions  of  English  racing  colour-prints  in  the  chateaux 
of  the  aristocracy,  as  indicative  of  an  admiration  for  English 
country  life.  The  principal  German  picture  buyers  of  to-day, 
those  of  the  "  haute  finance  "  and  the  "  haute  Industrie,""  had 
scarcely  come  into  being  :  Krupp,  the  cannon  caster,  still 
directed  his  business  from  the  unpretentious  little  working 
man's  shed  shown  to-day  to  the  visitor  as  a  curiosity. 

The  wealthy  German  manufacturer  who  does  his  correspond- 
ence to-day  by  means  of  telegrams,  who  engages  a  suite  of 
rooms  at  a  London  hotel  for  c£'500  to  see  a  coronation,  was 
unknown,  unheard  and  undreamt  of.  The  sons  of  the  middle 
class  manufacturers  and  merchants  were  brought  up  in 
accordance  with  the  ideals  of  their  parents,  which  were  those 
of  their  home.  Those  who  served  in  the  army  came  out  of  it 
and  returned  to  their  different  occupations  in  civil  life  without 
the  ambition  to  see  their  families  ennobled,  without  that  taint  ot 
restlessness  which  serious  German  writers  of  to-day  deplore  as  a 
sign  of  degeneracy.  People  in  general  worked  from  the  inside, 
as,  according  to  a  dictum  of  Richard  Wagner,  used  to  be 
22 


BEFORE    1870 

German  wont.  They  were  content  to  plod  on  with  love  in  their 
hearts  for  the  task  in  hand,  without  any  of  that  incessant 
craving  for  "  quick  returns  "  which  we  see  to-day.  People 
possessed  an  individuality  born  either  of  a  distinct  period,  of 
a  given  nationality,  or  of  their  own  particular  calling,  the  con- 
templation of  which  gratified  the  longing  with  which  most  of 
us  are  imbued  to  look  for  character  and  reality  in  the  place  of 
chimera  and  sham.  Altogether  the  high  pressure  and  surface 
work,  the  superficial  feeling,  the  irresponsible  verbiage  con- 
nected therewith  all  over  the  world  to-day,  were  unknown. 
Nations  and  individuals  were  satisfied  with  the  consciousness  of 
their  own  value,  and  were  not  consumed  by  a  desire  to  impart 
a  fictitious  version  of  it  day  by  day  to  the  world  at  large. 
And  it  was  well  for  Germany  that  it  was  so.  It  was  also  good 
for  the  nervous  system,  which  came  up  taut  and  strong  in 
supreme  moments  in  collective  action  and  carried  all  before  it. 

There  was  a  stubborn  grit  ^  which,  united  with  a  rare  fru- 
gality of  habit  and  simplicity  of  mind,  showed  great  results 
when  its  products  were  tried  by  the  ordeal  of  fire.  The 
significance  of  all  this  is  apparent  when  we  bear  in  mind  that 
these  were  the  conditions  in  which  those  men  grew  up  who 
have  since  filled  the  world  with  their  renown  and  created  that 
which  we  know  to-day  as  Modern   Germany. 

Not  that  such  changes  are  to  be  ascribed  to  the  action  of 
an  individual  or  any  number  of  such.  The  conditions  of  life 
all  the  world  over  have  undergone  radical,  and  in  some  respects 

1  Count  Beust  relates  in  his  Memoirs  (vol.  1.  p.  76)  a  remarkable  instance  of 
that  independence  of  character  so  conspicuous  at  the  period:  "The  Royal 
Concertmeister  Eoeckel  had  been  condemned  to  death  for  his  share  in  the 
revolutionary  movement  in  Dresden  in  1849,  and  his  sentence  had  been  com- 
muted to  penal  servitude  for  life  in  the  prison  of  Waldheim.  When  passions 
had  somewhat  subsided  the  King  was  ready  to  pardon  those  who  applied  by 
petition  for  mercy."  This  Roeckel  refused  to  do,  and  even  remained  obdurate 
when  Beust  visited  the  gaol  in  person,  although  he  had  by  that  time  suffered 
imprisonment  for  twelve  years.  Count  Beust  continues :  "  At  length  I  suc- 
ceeded in  obtaining  his  liberation  from  the  King,  evem  without  a  petition. 
I  ventured  to  say  that  this  resistance  had  something  of  antique  grandeur  about 
it,  and  I  added,  '  Where  is  the  reactionist  who  would  endure  twelve  years  of 
imprisonment  without  praying  for  mercy  ? '     The  King  laughed  and  yielded." 

23 


GERMAN    MEMORIES 

ominous,  changes.  The  fierce  limelight  of  publicity,  the 
blatant  shout  of  the  market-place,  these  influences  seem  to 
have  stunted  the  development  of  individual  personality,  and 
favoured  the  growth  of  the  impersonal  mob,  in  its  absorption 
of  every  independent  impulse.  Where  individual  enterprise 
once  produced  individuality  and  results  from  which  the  present 
is  still  drawing  its  sustenance,  huge  impersonal  concerns  now 
submerge  individual  effort ;  we  experience  a  certain  malaise 
such  as  a  cultivated  member  of  an  audience  occasionally  feels 
when  looking  on  at  a  transparently  unreal  and  vulgar  perform- 
ance. 

This  change  strikes  me  as  noticeable  in  every  sphere  of  life 
in  Germany,  except  among  the  best  of  all  classes.  To  revert 
to  Saxony,  with  which  I  was  more  particularly  familiar,  King 
John  was  a  distinct  character,  to  whom  all  theatricalism  was 
distasteful.  Military  uniform  did  not  suit  him  ;  it  rarely  does 
suit  a  high  type  of  man.  The  King  wore  plain  clothes ;  in 
these  he  was  pictured,  and  with  his  finely  chiselled  features 
looked  kingly.  King  John  of  Saxony  was  a  man  of  letters 
and  learning  who,  under  the  pseudonym  of  "  Philalethes,"  had 
written  and  published  a  translation  of  Dante's  "  Divina 
Commedia.""  He  was  a  genuine  man  and  a  gentleman  ;  genuine 
in  his  antagonism  to  Prussia  and  his  partiality  for  Austria,  for 
which  he  staked  his  crown  and  nearly  lost  it.  But  when  the 
game  was  up  he  loyally  accepted  defeat,  and  recognised  its 
consequences.  He  threw  himself  on  the  mercy  of  King 
William,  who,  it  is  said,  received  him  in  a  magnanimous 
spirit  similiar  to  that  displayed  on  another  great  occasion  in 
German  history,  when  Ludwig  the  Bavarian  met  with  open 
arms  Frederick  the  Handsome  of  Habsburg,  after  he  had 
defeated  him  at  the  battle  of  Miihlberg. 

Another  striking  personality,  something  on  a  small  and 
subdued  scale  of  the  Roi  Soleil  or  of  August  the  Strong,  was 
Herr  von  Beust,  the  Saxon  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs,  whose 
two  sons  Avere  my  schoolfellows.  I  remember  him  riding  in 
the  Grosser  Garten,  his  flowing  greyish  locks  waving  in  the 
wind.      As  a   person    of   importance  in   the  public  mind   he 


BEFORE    1870 

ranked  next  to  the  King.  I  made  the  Minister's  acquaintance 
in  1872,  at  the  house  of  a  friend,  when  he  was  passing  through 
Dresden  on  his  way  from  Vienna,  having  just  resigned  his 
Chancellorship  of  the  Austro-Hungarian  monarchy  to  take  up 
the  post  of  Austro-Hungarian  Ambassador  in  London,  where 
again  I  was  his  guest  in  Belgrave  Square.  Herr  von  Beust — 
after  his  Austrian  experiences  Count  Beust— was  a  somewhat 
vain  man,  as  proved  by  his  Reminiscences,  and  by  his  influence 
over  the  King  of  Saxony  and  his  opposition  to  Prussia  he  may 
be  said  to  have  jeopardised  the  very  existence  of  the  kingdom 
of  Saxony.  But  he  possessed  high  intellectual  gifts,  and 
the  courage  he  often  displayed  in  facing  hostile  public 
opinion,  stamps  him  as  a  strong  personality.  That  he 
was  also  endowed  with  certain  qualities  of  heart  and  mind  may 
be  fjiirly  inferred  from  the  fact  of  the  deep  and  sincere  attach- 
ment with  which  he  inspired  his  Sovereign,  who,  in  spite  of 
the  misfortune  which  Beusfs  policy  brought  upon  him  and 
his  country,  retained  a  deep  sense  of  obligation,  even  of  affec- 
tion for  him.  The  King  was  too  proud  a  man  to  throw  one 
over  "  zu  den  Todten  " — to  cast  coldly  to  the  dead  one  whom 
he  had  once  honoured  by  his  confidence,  even  though  such 
confidence,  as  proved  by  events,  had  been  misplaced. 

As  I  recall  those  remote  days  the  large  amount  of  interest 
which  the  theatre  excited  among  the  public  stands  out  in 
sharp  relief.  It  is  inconceivable  to-day  how  little  politics 
then  occupied  the  thoughts  of  the  community,  and  how  a  large 
proportion  of  their  interests  were  devoted  to  literature  and 
the  arts,  and  more  particularly  to  the  opera  and  the  drama. 

The  German  theatres  had  long  been  one  of  the  most  potent 
influences  for  the  education  of  the  people.^  They  had  in  this 
respect  almost  reverted  to  what  they  originally  sprang  from, 
namely,  a  part  of  the  cult  of  a  people,  a  connection  which 
still    survives    in    the    Oberammergau    Passion    Plays.       This 

1  In  1900  there  existed  in  the  German  Empire  400  theatres  which  could  claim 
to  possess  serious  artistic  qualifications.  Twenty  of  these  were  subsidised  Court 
theatres  and  sixtj'-five  municipal  theatres,  either  sul)sidised  or  let  out  by  the 
municipal  authorities,  some  of  them  at  as  low  a  fee  as  £2  a  performance. 

25 


GERMAN    MEMORIES 

educational  influence  was,  it  seems  to  me,  more  prominent  fifty 
years  ago  than  it  is  to-day,  now  that  the  music-hall  and  other 
entertainments  of  an  inferior  kind  have  brought  strenuous 
competition  to  bear  upon  high-class  theatres.  These,  what- 
ever might  have  been  their  limitations,  were  then  veritable 
temples  of  intellectual  worship,  as  set  forth  in  the  words, 
"  Dem  Wahren,  Schoenen,  Guten,"'  inscribed  in  big  letters 
over  the  portico  ;  dedicated  not  to  the  intellect  of  Germany 
alone,  but  to  that  of  the  whole  world.  The  subsidised  Court 
theatres,  as  also  the  excellent  municipal  theatres  of  many 
German  towns,  are  more  or  less  independent  of  pecuniary 
returns  ;  they  are  not  obliged  to  fit  their  programmes  accord- 
ing to  the  demand  of  the  greatest  number,  and  thus  to  pander 
to  a  half-educated  majority  of  the  public — a  condition  not 
unlike  that  of  the  Press  in  all  countries,  which  is  fatal  to 
its  progressive  educational  influence. 

In  this  respect  the  Dresden  Court  Theatre  in  its  golden 
days  was  indeed  happily  situated.  A  creation  of  that  archi- 
tectural genius,  Gottfried  Semper,"  it  was  the  most  beautiful 
structure  of  the  kind  in  Germany.  The  stately  building  stood 
out  free  and  clear  of  all  others  on  the  spacious  Theaterplatz, 
in  close  proximity  to  the  River  Elbe,  only  needing  elevation  of 
site  in  order  to  be  visible  from  afar,  like  some  Greek  temple. 
The  mere  sight  of  such  an  edifice  could  scarcely  fail  to  raise 
the  mind  of  the  visitor  above  the  level  connected  with  a  place 
of  entertainment.  This  favourable  impression  was  further 
emphasised  on  entering  the  foyer,  where  stood  tall  beadles, 
wearing  cocked  hats,  clad  in  a  striking  uniform,  a  broad  sash 
across  the  shoulder  with  the  Royal  arms  in  silver  and  green, 
holding  in  the  hand  an  imposing  staff  mounted  with  a  silver 
ball  as  a  knob,  from  which  hung  silver-braided  tassels.  The 
drop  curtain  was   in  itself  a  beautiful   and  suggestive  work   of 

1  "  Dedicated  to  the  True,  the  Beautiful,  the  Good  " — an  extension  of  Plato's 
Ka\6v  Kq.yo-6bv,  including  the  element  of  truth. 

2  The  Dresden  theatre  was  burned  down  in  1869,  and  a  new  building  even 
larger  and  more  magnificent  was  erected  on  its  site,  designed  by  the  same 
master  hand. 

26 


BEFORE    1870 

art,  consisting  of  a  number  of  exquisitely  drawn  figures  taken 
promiscuously  from  the  plays  of  the  greatest  dramatists  of  all 
countries.  It  is  related  that  Andrea  del  Sarto's  fresco 
painting  of  "The  Last  Supper,"  in  the  Abbey  of  San  Salvi, 
near  Florence,  made  such  a  powerful  impression  on  the 
besieging  soldiery  that  they  spared  the  building.  So  also  the 
curtain  of  the  Dresden  theatre  directed  the  thoughts  of  the 
audience  before  even  the  play  began  towards  the  master- 
works  of  dramatic  genius  of  the  whole  world's  literature. 

In  attending  a  performance  it  was  as  if  you  were  taking 
part  in  a  function — almost  a  rite — in  which  the  money- 
making  element  scarcely  figured  at  all ;  the  less  so  as  the 
prices  of  admission  were  on  a  most  moderate  scale.  There 
were  three  different  scales  of  prices  :  for  light  comedy,  historical 
drama,  and  grand  opera.  In  historical  drama  and  opera  the 
stalls  cost  three  shillings,  and  the  most  expensive  seats  in  the 
house  four  shillings.  But,  whatever  the  performance,  the 
gallery  cost  only  sixpence,  for  which  price  the  people  were 
able  to  witness  some  of  the  finest  dramatic  performances  in 
the  whole  ^world.  The  stalls  cost  twenty-five  neugroschen 
(two  shillings  and  sixpence)  on  nights  when  light  comedy  was 
given.  This  was  raised  to  one  thaler  ten  groschen  (four 
shillings)  on  nights  of  historical  drama  or  grand  opera,  and 
all  other  seats  were  cheap  in  proportion.  Added  to  these 
advantages,  the  performances  were  of  the  highest  character, 
for  the  Dresden  theatre  was  at  its  best  in  the  "  sixties,""  and 
first-class  artists  filled  every  department  of  drama  and  opera. 
The  very  fact  of  being  a  member  of  the  Royal  Court  Theatre, 
and  as  such  entitled  to  a  pension  for  life,  conferred  social 
distinction  on  the  most  obscure  member  of  the  chorus.  My 
father  was  a  great  believer  in  the  educational  influence  of  the 
stage.  He  took  me  to  the  theatre  every  evening  when  he 
came  to  Dresden,  and  left  instructions  with  the  headmaster 
of  the  Vitzthum  Gymnasium  that,  as  a  means  of  learning  the 
German  language,  I  should  be  allowed  to  go  to  the  theatre 
as  often  as  was  compatible  with  the  discipline  of  the  school. 
By    these    means    I    saw  more  of  the  opera   and  the  drama 

27 


GERMAN    MEMORIES 

generally  than  falls  to  the  lot  of  most  young  men  in  their 
teens,  and  the  experience  has  remained  engraved  on  my 
memory  down  to  the  present  day. 

The  repertory  embraced,  as  indicated  on  the  drop  curtain, 
the  masterpieces  of  the  world'^s  dramatists  and  the  world's 
composers.  Foremost  among  the  former  stood  Shakespeare — 
represented  by  nearly  all  his  plays.  The  idea  of  a  Shake- 
speare "  revival "  would  have  seemed  to  the  good  Dresden 
theatre-going  public  as  absurd  as  the  idea  of  a  "  revival "  of 
the  Deity  !  Shakespeare  was  always  with  us  in  all  his 
protean  immensity.  Of  French  dramatists  Moliere  was  fore- 
most, and  the  figure  of  Harpagon  in  "  L''Avare  "  was  one  of 
those  on  the  curtain  ;  but  Portugal,  Spain  and  Italy  Avere  also 
represented  by  the  works  of  Calderon,  Lope  de  Vega,  and 
Alfieri.  Schiller,  Goethe  and  Lessing  naturally  formed  the 
staple  of  German  classics,  but  Hebbel,  Kleist,  Brachvogel, 
Gustav  Freytag  and  many  others  were  not  forgotten.  The 
modern  French  plays  of  Alexandre  Dumas  jils,  Sardou  and 
other  lights  of  the  Second  Empire,  however,  with  their  ever- 
recurring  theme  of  adultery,  were  rigorously  excluded. 

The  repertory  of  the  Dresden  opera  was  probably  one  of  the 
most  varied  ever  possessed  by  any  theatre  in  the  world. 
Beethoven,  Mozart,  Gluck,  Spohr,  Spontini,  Cherubini,  Nicolai, 
Meyerbeer,  Flotow,  Weber,  Wagner,  Marschner,  Lortzing, 
Mehul,  Adam,  Gounod,  Boieldieu,  Auber,  Herold,  Halevy, 
Rossini,  Verdi,  Bellini  and  Donizetti — all  these  were  in  the 
repertoire,  and  works  of  nearly  all  of  them  I  remember  to  have 
witnessed.  The  ballet,  a  special  feature  of  the  opera,  was 
by  no  means  the  least  attractive.  There  was  something 
chaste  in  the  beautiful  apparition  of  the  prima  ballerina, 
Fraulein  Bose  ;  something  unspoilt,  natural,  and  childlike  in 
the  admiration  she  and  other  graceful  women  evoked.  Such 
a  loathsome  performance  as  that  of  the  pantomime  intermezzo, 
"  The  Vampyre,"  which,  in  our  time,  has  gone  the  round  of 
the  world,  was  impossible  in  Dresden. 

So  perfectly  constructed  was  the  theatre  with  its  many  exits 
that  it  was  usually  quite  empty  within  three  to  five  minutes  of 
28 


BEFORE    1870 

the  fall  of  the  curtain.  Such  a  thing  as  a  crush,  people 
getting  up  and  rushing  to  the  door  before  the  end  of  the 
performance,  was  unknown.  The  elevating  nature  of  the 
performance  prevented  such  an  occurrence.  There  was  no 
shouting  for  carriages,  inasmuch  as  people,  even  those  of  light 
and  leading,  walked  on  foot  the  short  distance  home  from  the 
theatre.  Of  a  winter  evening,  with  the  snow  on  the  ground, 
this  emptying  of  the  theatre  was  a  most  picturesque  sight. 
Here  and  there  was  a  lady,  in  a  sedan  chair  hired  from  the 
Altmarkt,  the  only  remaining  station  in  Europe  where  it 
could  be  procured,  and  borne  by  carriers  clad  in  quaint 
eighteenth-centmy  rococo  costumes  ;  with  groups  of  officers  of 
the  Blue  Garde  Reiter  in  their  gilt  brass  Grecian  helmets — for 
many  of  these  were  regular  frequenters  of  the  theatre  in  the 
first  row  of  the  stalls — independently  of  those  who  were  on 
duty  for  the  occasion.  The  performance  was  usually  over 
a  little  after  nine  o'clock. 

People  drew  their  inspiration  from  the  stage  in  those  days, 
and  where  now  political  Party  leaders  attract  their  attention, 
the  leading  actors  and  singers  stood  for  the  ideal  of  "  Dem 
Wahren,  Schoenen,  Guten."  Partisanship  was  strong  among 
the  public.  It  extended  from  the  highest  in  the  land  down  to 
the  humblest.  Even  domestic  servants  had  their  favourite 
singers  and  actors,  whom  they  went  to  hear  on  their  "  evenings 
out,"  and  old  General  von  Zetteritz  would  never  miss  a 
performance  when  that  charming  singer,  Friiulein  Alvsleben, 
sang.  "  Even  if  I  have  to  crawl  on  all  fours  I  must  go  to  the 
opera  to-night,"  he  said  to  his  servant.  And  sure  enough, 
there  he  sat  in  the  Fremdenloge — a  vision  of  a  past  age,  with 
his  Russian  field-glass,  of  Beresina  memory,  never  once  re- 
moved from  his  old  grey  eyes  throughout  the  performance. 

A  great  celebrity  of  those  days  was  Emil  Devrient,  the 
actor,  the  idol  of  the  Dresden  public.  Though  past  his  prime, 
for  he  was  well  over  sixty,  he  was  still  a  handsome  man  of 
most  distinguished  appearance  and  dignity  of  manner.  As 
Marquis  Posa,  in  Schiller's  "  Don  Carlos,"  he  was  ideal.  At 
the  words  addressed  to  King  Philip,  "  Sire,  give  your  people 

29 


GERMAN    MEMORIES 

frecdoin  of  thought,"  the  pit,  gallery  and  sbilLs  rose  to  the 
consciousness  of  taking  their  share  in  the  struggle  for  political 
liberty  then  already  in  progress  in  Germany.  Devrient  may  be 
said  to  have  dominated  the  theatrical  world  of  Dresden,  wliich 
felt  it  to  be  an  honour  that  he  belonged  to  it.  And  yet  with 
all  this  cult  on  the  part  of  the  public,  no  actor,  however 
distinguished,  was  allowed  to  interfere  with  the  artistic  unity  of 
a  performance.  There  was  no  baneful  "  star ""  influence.  I 
have  seen  Devrient  cheerfully  play  a  minor  part — yes,  even  a 
greater  than  he,  Bogumil  Dawison,  undertake  the  insignificant 
role  of  a  Lothringian  knight  in  Schiller's  "  Maid  of  Orleans." 

Some  years  before  the  final  struggle  between  Prussia  and 
Austria  for  the  hegemony  of  Germany  took  place  there  had 
been  a  growing  estrangement  between  Saxony  and  Prussia,  or, 
to  be  more  exact,  between  the  Saxon  capital  and  Berlin,  for  the 
city  of  Leipzig  was  reputed  to  be  considerably  less  antagonistic 
to  Prussia.  A  fifth-rate  Dresden  actor,  named  Nesmueller,  who 
introduced  some  patriotic  anti-Prussian  couplets  into  his  part, 
was  decorated  by  Herr  von  Beust.  Most  people,  at  least 
those  whom  I  remember,  were  intensely  anti-Prussian. 
Nesmueller's  theatre  was  the  only  one  existing  besides  the 
beautiful  Royal  Opera  House,  and  was  situated  in  the  Gewand- 
hausstrasse  over  a  row  of  butchers'*  shops  :  a  fact  which  at  times 
was  brought  unpleasantly  home  to  the  audience.  In  the 
summer  the  troupe  performed  in  a  so-called  Sommer-Theater 
in  the  Grosse  Garten,  a  somewhat  primitive  affair.  But,  for  all 
that,  serious  plays  were  now  and  then  given,  for  Frau 
Nesmueller  was  a  cultivated  actress.  One  afternoon,  my  father 
took  me  to  the  Grosse  Garten,  where  they  gave  a  historical 
drama  dealing  with  the  period  of  the  Seven  Years  War. 
Frau  Nesmueller  filled  the  part  of  the  Austrian  Empress, 
Maria  Theresa,  and  right  well  she  rose  to  her  task.  In  the 
course  of  the  play  a  Prussian  envoy  was  admitted  to  the 
presence  of  the  Empress,  and,  emphasising  the  demands  of 
Prussia,  and  the  means  that  Power  possessed  to  extort  their 
acceptance,  he  used  the  words  :  "  For,  Madam,  we  have  got 
money  and  we  have  got  brains."  These  words,  delivered  with 
30 


BEFORE    1870 

strong  emphasis  by  the  actor,  impressed  my  father,  who,  like 
most  of  the  people  we  met,  was  Austrian  in  his  sympathies. 
The  factors  of  money  and  brains  were  not  usually  taken  into 
consideration  at  tliat  time  when  discussing  the  chances  of  war. 
It  was  in  a  way  a  revelation,  a  portent  of  things  to  come. 

Not  long  after  Frau  Nesmueller's  excellent  theatrical  im- 
personation, that  which  was  mere  stage  play  became  grim 
reality,  and  soon  the  cry  arose,  "  The  Prussians  are  coming  ! " 
A  spirit  of  sauve  qui  pent  came  over  the  authorities.  They 
fled  with  the  national  cash-box  and  the  far-famed  treasures  of 
the  Green  Vaults,  for,  with  their  memories  of  Napoleonic 
times,  an  irruption  of  veritable  Huns  was  looked  for :  only  the 
Saxon  army  preserved  its  dignity,  and  retired  into  Bohemia 
to  await  the  foe.  The  Prussians  came  over-night  with  the 
suddenness  of  a  cataclysm,  but  a  new  spirit  came  with  them, 
and  private  property,  as  also  that  of  the  State,  was  respected. 
It  remained  untouched ;  only  a  little  horse-play  was  indulged 
in  at  the  expense  of  Herr  von  Beust"'s  country-house,  as  he 
tells  us  in  his  Memoirs.  Despite  a  fierce  inflaming  of  passions 
nobody  was  harmed — at  least  no  Saxons.  The  relationship 
between  the  Prussian  and  Saxon  aristocracy  was  close,  as 
intermarriage  was  frequent.  For  this  class,  therefore,  the 
conflict  was  almost  one  of  civil  war.  Herr  von  Mutius,  of 
the  Prussian  Garde  Corps  (who  had  been  at  the  Vitzthum 
Gymnasium,  and  whom  I  met  many  years  after!  at  a  Silesian 
country-house),  told  me  that  when  he  came  to  Dresden  with 
the  Prussians,  his  sister,  who  was  married  in  Saxony,  ran  after 
him  in  the  street  upbraiding  and  vilifying  him  in  public,  so 
that,  giant  as  he  was  in  his  uniform,  he  was  obliged  to 
threaten  to  have  her  arrested. 

On  the  approach  of  the  Prussians,  the  Saxons  blew  up  the 
railway-bridge  over  the  Elbe  at  Riesa  in  order  to  delay  the 
enemy ;  but  the  Prussians  soon  repaired  the  damage,  and 
replaced  the  missing  rails  with  those  which  they  had  brought 
with  them  for  the  purpose.  When  the  enemy  entered 
Dresden  and  demanded  quarters  of  the  mayor  for  40,000 
men,  the  magistrate  said  it  would  be  impossible  to  find  room 

31 


GERMAN    MEMORIES 

for  so  many.  Thereupon  the  Prussian  General  took  a  parch- 
ment from  one  of  his  aides-de-camp  and,  unroUing  it,  dis- 
played a  detailed  plan  of  the  city,  on  which  the  necessary 
quarters  for  40,000  men  were  carefully  marked  out  in  every 
detail.      This  was  nouveaujeu  for  the  good  Saxons  ! 

A  few  weeks  after  peace  was  proclaimed  I  passed  through 
Dresden  and  Bohemia  with  my  father.  In  the  town  of 
Reichenberg  there  was  a  Prussian  garrison,  and  I  witnessed 
the  painful  spectacle  of  wounded  Austrian  officers  limping 
through  the  streets  as  prisoners  in  their  own  country.  A 
break  of  nearly  five  years  now  occurs  in  my  German  memories, 
as  I  went  back  to  London  and  returned  to  Germany  only  in 
the  spring  of  1871. 


32 


CHAPTER  III 

THE  EMPEROR  WILLIAM  I 

I  HAD  spent  several  years  in  my  father''s  business  in  London 
when  in  the  spring  of  1871  he  sent  me  to  Germany  to  look 
after  the  Continental  interests  of  his  firm.  I  took  up  my 
abode  in  Dresden,  from  whence,  as  occasion  might  require,  I 
paid  flying  visits  to  those  factories  that  were  in  commercial 
relations  with  us.  Although  I  was  brought  up  with  the  view 
of  entering  my  father''s  business  I  possessed  a  fair  knowledge  of 
English,  German,  French  and  Italian  literature,  having  spent 
two  years  in  Brussels  mainly  devoted  to  the  study  of  French 
and  Italian.  I  now  utilised  my  spare  time  to  fill  up  the  gaps 
of  my  education  by  the  study  of  music,  German  literature 
and  philosophy.  I  lived  at  that  time  in  the  same  flat  with  a 
Swiss  staff  officer.  Major  Burnier,  of  the  Military  Academy  of 
Thun.  He  had  gone  through  the  war  as  military  attache 
with  the  German  staff:,  and  had  come  to  Dresden  to  work  up 
the  material  he  had  gathered.  I  saw  a  good  deal  of  him,  and 
it  was  most  suggestive  to  notice  how  events  which  appealed  to 
the  outer  world  in  all  their  martial  glamour  were  professionally 
dissected  and  analysed  as  so  much  scientific  matter  without  a 
vestige  of  sentiment  of  any  kind.  He  was  one  of  the  most 
kindly  men  I  ever  met,  and  I  do  not  remember  one  single 
sentence  coming  from  his  lips  in  criticism  of  anybody.  I  used 
to  ride  out  of  an  early  summer  morning  before  breakfast  far 
and  wide  in  the  beautiful  surroundings  of  Dresden.  My 
companion  now  and  then  was  a  sergeant  of  the  Garde  Reiter 
who  had  been  present  at  the  battle  of  Sedan.  We  both  rode 
horses  that  had  been  through  the  war,  for  many  thoroughbreds 
had  been  disposed  of  after  that  battle  at  about  a  sovereign 

c  33 


GERMAN    MEMORIES 

apiece,  and  of  these  a  number  had  found  their  way  to  Dresden 
and  got  into  the  hands  of  jobmasters  from  whom  they  could 
be  hired. 

As  two  acquaintances  of  mine  were  going  to  BerHn  to  witness 
the  triumphal  entry  of  the  troops  on  the  16th  June,  I  availed 
myself  of  the  opportunity  to  accompany  them.  It  was  my 
first  visit  to  the  Prussian  capital,  and  we  had  the  greatest 
difficulty  in  finding  lodgings  ;  but  at  last  we  discovered  one 
room  in  a  third-rate  hotel,  where  we  were  "  allowed ''  to  lie  on 
the  floor  at  15  marks  each  per  night.  In  the  morning  we 
were  in  the  streets  before  five  o*'clock,  and  remained  out  all  day 
and  far  into  the  night  and  the  next  morning.  It  was  an 
indescribable  sight,  probably  unique  in  the  annals  of  the 
world,  this  pageant  of  triumph  of  a  great  nation  after  un- 
paralleled victories.  Even  at  this  distance  of  time  the  recollec- 
tion of  it  thrills  the  heart  and  lifts  the  mind  on  to  a  plane 
scarcely  in  consonance  with  latter-day  reality. 

There  is  a  springtide  in  the  affairs  of  a  nation  as  there  is  in 
the  life  of  an  individual.  Indeed,  nations  are  endowed  with 
the  faculty  of  renewing  their  youth,  but  only  after  periods  of 
suffering,  fervour  (Sammlung)  and  chastity,  which  bring  about, 
as  it  were,  a  re-birth,  a  renaissance.  It  is  then  that  for  a 
short  spell  they  seem  to  be  capable  of  great,  unselfish  effort, 
as  we  all  are  in  the  springtime  of  our  first  love.  Were  it 
otherwise  the  progress  of  the  world  would  be  consecutive, 
whereas  we  know  that,  like  the  motion  of  the  sea,  it  is  subject 
to  fluctuations,  to  retrogressions  as  well  as  progressions.  The 
years  1866-1871  constituted  such  a  period  in  the  life  of  the 
German  nation,  the  achievements  of  which — not  merely  in 
arms — were  only  possible  as  the  product  of  an  idealism  which 
sprang  from  an  auspicious  concatenation  of  circumstances,  as 
unsuspected  by  the  outer  world  as  it  was  tremendous  in  its 
manifestation. 

This  found  its  culminating-point  in  the  return  home  of  the 
German  troops  in  the  early  summer  of  1871.  Nearly  a  year 
of  excitement  had  brought  the  best,  and  probably  also  some  of 
the  worst,  elements  to  the  surface ;  but  the  best  enormously 
34 


THE    EMPEROR    WILLIAM    I 

predominated.  For,  except  in  the  case  of  millionaire  army 
contractors,  hardly  anybody  had  been  engaged  in  a  selfishly 
profitable  occupation  during  that  period ;  the  thought  of  the 
community  was  concentrated  on  the  weal  and  woe  of  others. 
This  allowed  full  play  to  the  sympathies  of  the  heart  for  our 
fellow  creatures.  It  was — alas  I  for  a  short  span  of  time 
only — as  if  the  unamiable  characteristics  of  a  whole  race  had 
been  exorcised  as  by  a  fairy's  magic  wand.  The  memory  of 
those  days  recalls  values,  cleansed  of  their  slag — of  the  dross 
which  clings  to  all  human  things. 

What  is  past  returneth  never  ; 
But  if  gone  in  radiance  bright, 
Long  will  glow  its  lustrous  light ! 

Not  a  single  intoxicated  person  did  I  see  :  not  a  coarse  or 
boastful  word,  hardly  a  loud  one,  did  I  hear  on  that  memorable 
day — and  even  far  into  the  night — when  45,000  troops  led  by 
the  Emperor  and  his  Paladins  entered  Berlin  through  the 
renowned  Brandenburg  Gate  and  defiled  through  the  Linden. 
By  the  exercise  of  some  little  ingenuity  we  managed  to  obtain 
admission  at  the  back  of  the  Military  Guard  House,  which, 
seen  from  Unter  den  Linden,  is  situated  on  the  left  hand  side, 
immediately  adjoining  the  Brandenburg  Gate.  We  were 
allowed  to  get  on  the  roof  of  the  building,  and  thus  we  had 
the  whole  spectacle  directly  in  front  of  us — a  vantage-ground 
which  no  amount  of  money  could  have  secured. 

The  roofs  of  the  houses  of  the  Pariser  Platz  were  black  with 
people.  Of  the  outline  of  the  quadriga  at  the  top  of  the 
Brandenburg  Gate  little  could  be  distinguished  beyond  the 
figure  of  the  female  charioteer  holding  the  bronze  eagle  staff 
aloft  in  her  hand,  so  dense  was  the  crowd  that  had  obtained 
admission  to  the  lofty  position.  Huge  stands  and  red-draped 
platforms  met  the  eye,  inside  and  outside  of  the  Gate,  row 
upon  row  of  seats  rising  tier  upon  tier  to  the  very  roofs  of  the 
houses,  and  outside  the  Gate  level  with  the  tops  of  the  trees 
of  the  Thiergarten.  Wreaths,  garlands,  festoons,  covered  the 
facing  of  the  house  fronts,  stout  threads  of  green  wound  round 

35 


GERMAN    MEMORIES 

and  round  the  six  columns  of  the  Gate  from  base  to  summit. 
Pennons,  banners  and  bandoliers,  Venetian  masts  with  the 
armorial  bearings  of  cities  and  provinces  perched  up  half-way, 
and  decorated  with  flags,  drapery  and  ornamental  mouldings, 
dazzled  the  eye  by  their  kaleidoscopic  variety.  The  broad 
space  immediately  in  front  of  the  Brandenburg  Gate  was 
alone  kept  clear  for  the  passage  of  the  troops  ;  its  width, 
embracing  the  centre  of  the  Pariser  Platz,  is  about  60  to 
70  ft.,  and  it  was  sprinkled  with  yellow  gravel  up  to  the 
avenue  of  the  Linden.  A  separate  red-draped  stand  was 
erected  just  inside  the  gate  for  the  Maids  of  Honour,  in  front 
of  whom  the  Emperor  drew  up  as  he  rode  in  and  received 
their  homage. 

I  cannot  recall  the  exact  sequence  of  the  military  pageant, 
nor  the  hour  it  began,  nor  when  it  was  over,  nor  how  many 
regimental  bands  thrilled  us  with  their  stirring  strains.  Not 
the  glamour,  the  glitter,  but  rather  the  human  side  of  this 
bewildering  spectacle  has  remained  in  my  memory. 

A  brilliant  group,  consisting  of  several  hundred  horsemen, 
indicates  that  the  culminating-point  of  the  day  is  at  hand. 
They  are  full  Generals — some  of  them  have  held  independent 
commands  in  battle — with  achievements  to  their  credit  which, 
in  a  war  of  smaller  dimensions,  would  have  entitled  them  to 
triumphs  of  their  own.  Here  they  are  fused  in  the  mass, 
serving  a  higher  purpose  than  the  recognition  of  their  own 
glory.  The  crowd  is  on  tenter-hooks  expecting  the  Emperor 
to  follow  immediately  upon  his  Generals,  but  he  had  prepared 
a  surprise  for  his  good  Berliners.  A  tremendous  shout  arises 
when  the  figures  of  Moltke,  Bismarck,  and  Roon  riding  abreast 
— Bismarck  in  the  middle — come  in  sight  immediately  in 
front  of  the  Emperor,  the  Crown  Prince  and  Prince  Frederick 
Charles  riding  on  either  side  of  the  Monarch. 

When  these  six  men  ride  in  under  the  archway  of  the 
Brandenburg  Gate,  and  draw  rein  in  face  of  the  wild  enthu- 
siasm their  presence  creates,  the  effect  is  overpowering !  I 
throw  myself  flat  on  the  slanting  leaden  roof,  burning  hot 
though  it  is  from  the  rays  of  the  sun,  lest  the  rush  of  air, 
36 


THE    EMPEROR    WILLIAM    I 

as  of  a  hurricane,  might  hurl  me  over  the  ledge  on  the 
bayonets  of  the  soldiers  below.  It  is  the  supreme  moment, 
the  apotheosis  of  victorious  Germany,  and  it  comes  as  a  relief 
to  over-wrought  nerves  when  the  Emperor  leads  the  way  to 
the  group  of  Maids  of  Honour  clad  in  white  stationed  to  the 
right  of  us,  and  thence  passes  on  through  the  avenue  of  Linden 
trees,  on  each  side  of  which  scores  of  the  captured  cannon  and 
mitrailleuses  are  ranged  in  rows  :   a  staggering  sight. 

The  crowd  is  now  in  a  state  of  delighted  good-nature,  as 
one  passing  column  of  troops  succeeds  the  other.  The 
French  "  eagles "  are  carried  aloft  by  men  chosen  from  every 
section  of  the  German  army — Saxons,  Bavarians,  and  others. 
In  a  moment  the  cheers  are  hushed  as  if  by  a  feeling  of 
awe  for  something  sacred,  calling  for  lowliness  of  heart  in  the 
presence  of  these  symbols  of  victory,  the  winning  of  which 
has  cost  rivers  of  blood. 

I  fancy  I  can  hear  the  rhythmic  tramp  of  the  troops — 
infantry,  cavalry,  and  artillery — passing  in  endless  columns  ; 
the  pennons  on  the  lances  of  the  famous  Uhlans  fluttering 
in  the  breeze,  but  most  popular,  as  it  seems  to  me,  are 
the  regiments  of  infantry,  the  "  Guards "  stationed  in  peace 
in  the  neighbourhood  of  Berlin,  for  one  can  see  that  many 
of  them  are  recognised  by  the  crowd,  which  hails  them 
individually  in  its  humorous  way  : 

Trotz  Chassepot  und  Kugelspritze 

Da  kommt  zurueck  der  Koerner  Fritze.^ 

Many  were  covered  with  oak  leaves  and  wreaths  of  green 
and  pine  boughs,  which  gave  them  the  corporate  appearance  of 
the  army  led  by  Macduff  through  Birnam  Wood  to  meet 
Macbeth  in  battle  !  I  noticed  a  boy  clad  in  a  soldier's  tattered 
overcoat  reaching  down  to  his  feet.  He,  too,  was  covered  with 
leaves  of  laurel,  pine,  and  oak  !  probably  a  camp-follower,  who 
had  been  with  the  regiment  from  start  to  finish  ;  but  he  seemed 
a  man  in  his  martial  bearing  as  he  strode  along  defiantly  in 

1  "  In  Bpite  of  chassepot  and  mitrailleuse, 
Lo  I     Freddy  Koerner  back  again." 

37 


GERMAN    MEMORIES 

spite  of  his  load  of  green  in  front  of  the  column.  This 
boy  received  quite  an  ovation  from  the  crowd.  As  the  day 
went  on  and  column  succeeded  column,  the  cavalry  and 
artillery  quickened  their  pace  until  towards  the  close  horses 
and  cannon  thundered  along  helter-skelter. 

QuadrupecUmte  putrem  sonitu  quatit  ungula  campum. 

If  this  was  the  apotheosis  of  victorious  Germany,  it  was 
no  less  the  culminating-point  in  the  career  of  the  Emperor- 
King  the  ruler,  on  whose  birthday  (the  evening  of  the 
22nd  of  March)  eight  years  previously  I  had  stood  as  a  boy 
before  the  Prussian  barracks  at  Frankfort-on-the-Maine.  Not 
a  soul  turned  to  look  at  the  cold,  quivering  gas  illumina- 
tion over  the  portico  in  honour  of  the  event,  or  to  take  the 
slightest  notice  of  the  sullen-looking  Prussian  sentinel  in  his 
box.  King  William  was  then  still  popularly  known  as  the 
"  Grapeshot  Prince,"  ^  as  the  autocrat  who  at  his  coronation 
at  Koenigsberg  had  declared  that  he  held  his  office  by 
Divine  grace,  and  who,  with  the  complicity  of  a  certain 
Bismarck  had  dared  to  rule  in  opposition  to  the  will  of  Parlia- 
ment. This  man  had  become  within  the  short  space  of  five 
years  a  hero — a  War  God — and  he  looked  it,  a  very  halo 
encompassed  him.  But  his  vast  popularity,  strange  to  say, 
seemed  somehow  to  have  its  source  not  so  much  in  the  prestige 
of  victory  as  in  the  belated  recognition  of  his  sincerity,  his 
qualities  of  heart,  without  which  there  never  was  and  never 
will  be  any  genuine  greatness  on  earth.  It  was  the  father, 
the  patriarch,  not  the  autocrat  who  stood  supreme  before  the 
whole  world  in  success,  and  also  in  self-restraint ;  for  there 
was  a  touch  of  spontaneous  grace,  of  magnanimity  in  the  man. 
Small  wonder  that  he  gained  the  love  and  veneration  of  a 
people  among  which  these  sentiments  for  a  sovereign  had 
hitherto  found  small  scope  for  growth   or  manifestation.      His 

1  Some  years  afterwards  I  met  an  elderly  widow  lady  in  Dresden  society 
whose  husband,  Freiherr  von  Triitzschler-Falkenstein,  had  been  condemned  to 
death  by  court-martial  in  the  Revolution  in  Baden  in  1849  and  was  shot,  after 
his  wife  had  vainly  thrown  herself  at  the  feet  of  Prince  William  of  Prussia 
(since  German  Emperor)  imploring  his  mercy. 

38 


THE    EMPEROR    WILLIAM    I 

own  brother  and  predecessor  as  King  of  Prussia  evoked  such 
a  feehnff  of  indifference  that  when  he  walked  abroad  the 
Berliners  had  been  known  to  turn  their  backs  on  him  ! 

Every  German  capital  and  every  republican  city — Ham- 
burg, Bremen,  and  Luebeck  to  wit — had  its  own  triumphal 
entry.  I  saw  the  return  of  the  Saxon  troops  to  Dresden.  The 
Emperor  came  not :  he  did  not  wish  to  come,  he  was  free  from 
egotism  and  thus  he  wanted  others  to  be  unfettered,  to  rejoice 
among  themselves.  He  knew  he  had  done  his  best  for  all,  and 
shrank  from  being  constantly  reminded  of  it  and  glorified  for 
doing  his  duty.  Never  a  boastful  word  of  the  services  which 
he  and  his  ancestors  had  rendered  to  the  State  fell  from  his 
lips.  When  the  newly  built  palatial  hotel,  thiP  Kaiserhof,  was 
opened  and  the  Emperor  was  asked  to  inspect  it,  he  was  con- 
fronted by  his  own  portrait  in  oils  on  the  wall  staring  at  him, 
and  he  instinctively  shrank  back.  "  Must  I  always  be  dragged 
in  ? "  he  pleaded.  The  Emperor  was  a  father  to  the  army, 
more  particularly  to  his  officers.  Those  of  the  old  Prussian 
noble  families  were  nearest  his  heart ;  he  knew  most  of  them 
by  name,  but  this  did  not  mean  favouritism  for  them  at  the 
expense  of  those  who  were  not  noble.  He  appreciated  each 
individually  according  to  his  character  and  his  services.  If 
misfortune  overtook  them,  he  helped  them  generously  from 
his  private  purse,  although  personally  he  retained  an  almost 
Spartan  penuriousness. 

One  day  the  German  Embassy  in  London  received  a  message 
from  Berlin  that  the  Emperor  was  forwarding  his  old  field- 
glass  for  repairs,  with  instructions  to  send  it  to  the  same  shop 
at  which  he  had  purchased  it  when  he  was  last  in  London 
as  a  refugee  in  1848,  somewhere  in  the  neighbourhood  of 
Cheapside.  To-day  the  finest  and  most  expensive  field-glasses 
in  the  world  are  made  in  Berlin.  I  remember  seeing  one  of 
the  Emperor's  sporting  guns  at  a  Berlin  gunsmith's,  where 
it  had  been  sent  for  repair.  It  was  a  plain  Lefauchaux  pin- 
fire,  long  after  the  improved  central-fire  system  had  become 
common.  It  was  a  gun  at  which  an  English  gamekeeper 
might  have  turned  up  his  nose.      The  Emperor  was  strongly 

39 


GERMAN    MEMORIES 

averse  to  spending  money  on  himself.  When  it  was  a  question 
of  buying  an  expensive  charger  for  him  to  ride,  he  said  it  was 
a  pity  to  spend  so  much  money  on  an  old  man.  I  give  the 
incident  in  the  words  of  the  old  Emperor's  chief  equerry,  now 
Major-General  E.  von  Meyer,  as  he  has  given  it  to  me. 
"  In  the  year  1879  I  was  ordered  to  go  to  England  to  look  for 
horses  for  the  Emperor,  and  in  case  I  found  any  suitable  ones 
to  buy  two  or  three  for  him.  I  soon  discovered  a  hunter, 
which  appeared  to  possess  the  requisite  qualities,  but  it  was  to 
cost  £4!00.  I  sent  in  my  report  and  in  reply  was  informed 
that  the  Emperor  was  inclined  to  acquire  the  horse  in  ques- 
tion, but  found  the  price  dreadfully  high,  and  further  pur- 
chases at  such  a  figure  were  not  to  be  thought  of.  Unfor- 
tunately, the  Emperor  never  rode  this  particular  horse,  as  it 
went  incurably  lame  in  the  course  of  being  broken  in.  His 
Majesty  rode  on  horseback  for  the  last  time  in  the  year  1886, 
when  he  was  eighty-eight  years  of  age.  Until  that  date  he 
attended  all  parades  and  manoeuvres  on  horseback.  If  it  ever 
happened  that  his  mount  did  not  exactly  parry,  and  if  when 
His  Majesty  alighted  I  endeavoured  to  apologise  for  the 
contretemps,  he  invariably  replied :  '  It  was  not  the  fault  of 
the  horse,  but  my  own.'  The  Emperor's  great  kindness  of 
heart  was  manifest  on  every  occasion." 

The  Emperor  possessed  to  an  eminent  degree  the  three 
virtues  of  loyalty,  benevolence,  and  a  sense  of  gratitude ;  all 
three  of  which,  by  his  example,  he  diffused  around  him,  thus 
stamping  his  individuality  on  his  time  and  on  a  people  not 
usually  much  inclined  to  receptivity  in  this  respect.  Those 
that  served  him  near  his  person  treasured  the  memory  of  their 
service  until  their  dying  day  as  an  experience  worth  having 
lived  for.  He  could  not  bring  himself  to  part  with  old  friends 
who  had  served  him  well,  whether  it  was  a  field-glass,  a  gun, 
a  horse,  or  an  old  soldier  !  The  brute-god,  Mammon,  with 
mocking  laughter,  had  not  yet  entered  upon  the  scene  in  old 
William's  days,  nor  had  an  indiscriminate  cult  of  mechanical 
efficiency  deadened  the  perception  in  high  places  of  that 
which  is  spiritual,  a  part  of  the  very  soul  of  a  people,  that 
40 


J7 

THE    EMPEROR    WILLIAM    I 

which  had  enabled  the  Germans  to  face  the  French  vic- 
toriously up  the  deadly  slopes  of  Spicheren,  although  armed 
with  a  weapon  vastly  inferior  to  the  chassepot. 

There  was  a  sense  of  good-natured  humour,  of  common 
rejoicing,  lajoie  de  vivre,  in  the  air  in  this  rare  period.  It 
was  related  that  when  the  Emperor  held  his  Court  and  Marshal 
Wrangel  took  his  place  among  his  old  veterans — older  by 
far  than  the  Emperor,  for  he  was  born  in  the  year  1784, 
and  had  fought  in  the  battle  of  Leipzig  as  a  captain — the 
Emperor  would  poke  him  gently  in  the  ribs  with  the  spike  of 
his  helmet.  This  made  the  old  warrior  smile  and  exclaim  : 
"  Majestaet  belieben  zu  scherzen  "  ("  Your  Majesty  deigns  to 
make  fun ").  The  Prussian  officer,  mocked  by  Heine  and 
more  or  less  disliked  for  his  supposed  arrogance,  seemed  to 
have  undergone  a  metamorphosis.  Victory  had  cleansed  and 
clothed  him  with  a  mien  of  modesty,  simplicity,  and  affability, 
which  had  hitherto  been  deemed  foreign  to  his  nature.  Not  a 
word  of  vainglory  or  a  trace  of  self-assertion  remains  in  my 
memory  from  the  casual  contact  I  had  with  many  German 
officers  in  those  days.  The  word  "  patriotism "  was  never 
heard,  but  it  was  in  evidence  nevertheless. 

This  happy  frame  of  mind  was  noticeable  in  many  places. 
It  was  as  if  the  suffering  of  the  past  had  been  wiped  away  in 
a  joyous  boyish  jubilation  set  free,  which  coloured  everything 
— song,  drama,  and  letters.  The  very  street  songs,  the 
adventures  of  the  common  soldier,  "  Kutschke,"  were  humorous, 
good-natured  banter.  Pauline  Lucca,  one  of  the  renowned 
singers  of  the  time,  whose  husband,  a  Prussian  officer,  had 
been  wounded  in  the  war,  made  a  triumphal  progress  through 
the  country  with  Gumbert's  simple  song  "  Mein  ganzer 
Reichthum  ist  mein  Lied."  The  lovely  Oceana,  the  queen 
of  the  circus,  enthralled  soldiers  and  civilians  by  her  grace 
as  a  rider  and  her  extraordinary  beauty.  Harmless  humour, 
not  unmixed  with  sentimentality,  but  at  least  free  from  the 
ugly  idiosyncrasies  of  a  later  period,  marked  the  popular 
novelists  of  the  time. 

A    feature  of   greater   and   deeper   import  was  Bismarck's 

41 


GERMAN    MEMORIES 

stand  against  the  pretensions  of  the  Roman  hierarchy  and  the 
sympathy  it  evoked  in  England.  Whatever  may  be  thought 
of  the  wisdom  of  the  Kulturkampf  as  a  pohtical  measure,  it 
certainly  brought  England  and  Germany  together  as  rarely 
before  and  never  since.  The  best  of  both  nations  stood  on 
one  platform  in  championship  of  something  nobler  than  the 
struggle  for  markets,  the  rivalry  in  armaments — the  fight  for 
the  freedom  of  the  mind.  More  than  fifty  public  meetings 
were  held  in  the  United  Kingdom,  the  most  notable  being 
those  at  St.  James's  and  Exeter  Halls.  The  names  of  the 
representative  Englishmen  who  sympathised  with  Germany  at 
that  time  filled  nearly  eighty  printed  pages,  and  called  forth 
a  stirring  letter  of  thanks  from  the  Emperor  addressed  to  Earl 
Russell,  besides  an  address  signed  by  the  most  distinguished 
members  of  the  German  Reichstag,  the  Prussian  Chamber,  and 
numerous  public  bodies  throughout  the  German  Empire. 
Such  is  the  only  struggle  in  which  England  and  Germany 
should  ever  engage,  and  then  shoulder  to  shoulder. 

It  was,  perhaps,  only  natural  that  such  a  time  should  have 
affected  the  nerves  of  a  subsequent  generation,  those  that  had 
had  no  direct  experience  of  its  trials,  its  tragedies,  and  its 
heroisms,  much  less  an  insight  into  the  true  spiritual  sources 
of  it  all.  It  is  on  record  to  the  glory  of  Germany  that  these 
experiences  did  not  vitiate  those  who  had  borne  their  brunt. 
A  perusal  of  the  Emperor's  correspondence  with  Bismarck 
during  the  following  years,  in  its  simple  human  interest 
and  consideration  for  others,  and  an  ever-present  sense  of 
gratitude  to  the  man  who  had  cast  so  much  splendour  on  the 
House  of  Hohenzollen,  reads  like  a  fairy-tale  from  another 
world,  in  which  humour  and  naivete  of  heart  were  still  potent 
features. 

Now  and  then  I  came  to  Berlin  in  the  following  years  to 
see  my  paternal  friend  Dr.  Ernst  Engel,  the  eminent  statisti- 
cian, long  the  head  of  the  Prussian  Statistical  Bureau.  He 
used  to  tell  me  stories  of  the  Emperor's  sterling  character,  his 
affability  and  of  the  keen  intellectual  interests  of  the  Empress, 
who  loved  to  see  deserving  men  of  mark  and  high  character  at 
42 


TKINCE   UISMAKCK 


THE    EMPEROR    WILLIAM    I 

her  little  parties  at  Babelsberg.  When,  in  1,882,  Engel,  owing 
to  differences  with  Bismarck,  resigned  his  position,  retired  into 
private  life,  and  went  to  live  at  Dresden  I  used  to  see  him 
oftener.  I  asked  him  one  day  why  he  had  not  said  good-bye 
to  the  Emperor  before  leaving  Berlin.  He  replied  that  he 
had  refrained  from  doing  so  because  he  knew  in  advance  that 
the  Emperor  would  have  said  to  him  :  "  Why  do  you  leave 
me,  since  you  see  that  I  am  still  sticking  to  my  post  ? "" 

A  showy,  decorative  element  is  abroad  to-day  which  was 
absent  forty  years  ago.  Strolling  in  the  Unter  den  Linden 
and  taking  a  glance  at  the  photographers'  showcases,  in 
which  any  number  of  undistinguished  faces  in  uniforms  covered 
with  stars  and  crosses  meet  your  eye,  it  is  not  easy  to  conjure 
up  the  unadorned  simplicity  which  was  such  a  striking  feature 
of  the  years  1870-1871.  The  sight  of  the  Iron  Cross  of  the 
second  class  carried  with  it  in  those  days  the  inspiring 
impression  that  its  wearer  had  gone  through  one  of  the 
greatest  wars  of  modern  times,  and  had  possibly  taken  his  part 
in  half  a  dozen  pitched  battles.  The  Iron  Cross  of  the  first 
class,  identical  with  that  of  the  second  in  its  severe  simplicity 
only  that  it  was  worn  over  the  heart,  was  indeed  an  extra- 
ordinary distinction  !  And  yet  even  this  had  been  won  and 
worn  by  many  men  in  a  subordinate  position.  The  order 
"  Pour  le  merite "  was  only  given  to  the  Crown  Prince  on  the 
battlefield  of  Sadowa,  and  it  made  quite  a  sensation  in  the 
Prussian  army  when  a  mere  major  (von  Versen)  was  awarded 
this  highest  of  all  military  distinctions  on  the  same  occasion. 

A  trait  of  homely  human  interest  still  lingers  in  my 
memory  of  that  far-off  golden  time.  It  is  typical  of  the 
democratic  spirit  in  which  services  rendered  to  the  wounded 
were  rewarded  after  the  war.  A  buxom,  elderly  woman  and 
her  daughter  kept  the  refreshment  buffet  at  the  small  out-of- 
the-way  railway  station  of  Reibnitz,  in  the  Silesian  Giant 
Mountains.  At  whatever  time  of  the  day  or  night  the 
traveller  turned  up  he  was  always  sure  of  a  cup  of  excellent 
coffee,  which  the  daughter  prepared  whilst  the  mother  would 
entertain   the    wayfarer,  who,   like    myself,  had  often    passed 

43 


GERMAN    JNI  E  M  O  R I  E  S 

that  way  and  was  well  known  to  her,  with  tales  of  the  war. 
For  she  had  done  good  work  during  the  campaigns  of  1866 
and  1870  as  nurse  to  the  wounded.  "Yes,"  she  said,  "I 
have  both  the  second  and  the  first  class  of  the  coveted 
Louisen  Order,"  the  latter  only  awarded  as  a  rule  to  ladies 
of  high  position.  "  I  received  the  second  class  after  the  war 
of  ''66,  and  the  first  class  was  given  to  me  after  1870  by 
the  Kaiser.  When  he  last  attended  a  parade  at  Breslau  I 
thought  I  would  like  to  pay  my  respects  to  him,"  and  her 
eyes  lit  up  with  enthusiasm  as  she  continued,  "  so  I  donned 
my  decorations  and  took  up  a  position  where  I  was  likely 
to  attract  the  Emperor's  notice  in  passing,  and  sure  enough, 
when  His  Majesty  rode  past  on  horseback  he  drew  rein, 
stopped  short  in  front  of  me  with  his  whole  staff,  saluted  me 
three  times  (drci  mal  hat  er  mir  Honneurs  gemacht),  and 
exclaimed,  '  Woman !  what  services  must  you  have  rendered 
(geleistet)  to  have  deserved  such  high  distinctions.'" 

I  saw  the  old  War  Lord  once  again  in  Dresden  on  the 
17th  of  September,  1882,  on  the  occasion  of  a  fete  of  the 
Albert  Verein,  an  international  institution  called  into  being 
by  Queen  Carola  of  Saxony  as  part  of  the  Red  Cross  Associa- 
tion for  the  succour  of  sick  and  wounded  soldiers.  This 
brought  the  Emperor,  already  eighty-four  years  of  age,  to  the 
Saxon  capital.  I  caught  a  glimpse  of  him  from  afar  as  he 
stood  erect  in  his  spiked  helmet  in  front  of  the  rococo 
Palace  opposite  the  lake  in  the  Grosse  Garten,  and  was 
addressed  in  flowing  verse  in  her  silvery  voice  by  Fraulein 
Pauline  Ulrich,  the  charming  "  first  heroine "  of  the  Royal 
Court  Theatre,  clad  in  a  white  Grecian  robe  with  a  plain 
gold  band  in  her  hair.  The  Emperor,  courteous  as  ever, 
graciously  thanked  her,  and,  as  she  afterwards  proudly  told 
me,  gave  her  a  beautiful  jewel. 

This  period,  unique  in  the  history  of  Germany  of  a 
thousand  years,  may  be  said  to  have  come  to  an  end  with  the 
Emperor's  death  when  his  son,  a  dying  man,  penned  the 
following  proclamation,  which  was  brought  to  the  knowledge  of 
the  public  in  the  Rekhsanzeiger  of  the  9th  of  March,  1888  : 
44 


THE    EMPEROR    WILLIAM    I 

"  His  Majesty  the  Kaiser  and  King  has  issued  the  fol- 
lowing proclamation  to  the  Staatsministerium  for  publication 
in  connection  with  public  mourning : 

"  In  respect  of  the  general  mourning  hitherto  customary 
we  will  not  formulate  any  definite  prescription.  We  prefer 
to  leave  it  to  every  individual  German  how  he  may  feel 
inclined  to  give  expression  to  his  grief  in  view  of  the  passing 
of  such  a  monarch  ;  as  also  in  regard  to  the  length  of  time 
during  which  it  may  be  deemed  fit  that  public  amusements 
shall  be  curtailed. 

"  (Signed)  Frederick." 

A  note  was  struck  here  mingled  with  tears  and  funeral 
bells,  which  has  not  found  a  repetition  since.  It  came  direct 
from  a  stricken  human  heart. 


45 


CHAPITER  IV 

DRESDEN    AFTER    1870 

"  I  THINK  Dresden  is  more  charming  and  delightful  than  ever, 
and  this  is  saying  a  good  deal,"  an  English  lady  wrote  to  me 
the  other  day,  and  her  opinion  is  one  to  which,  after  a 
familiarity  of  over  fifty  years  with  the  capital  of  Royal  Saxony, 
I  most  willingly  subscribe :  true  to  the  love  of  my  youth, 
Dresden  is  engraved  on  my  heart  and,  unlike  Caesar,  I  would 
rather  be  nobody  there  where  I  have  spent  some  of  the 
happiest  days  of  my  life  than  somebody  in  Rome  without 
any  associations. 

Many  are  the  cities  I  have  seen,  but  to  Dresden  I  must  give 
the  palm  as  regards  those  points  which,  I  think,  constitute  the 
attraction  and  charm  of  a  city  for  a  stranger  !  The  delightful 
situation  on  the  banks  of  the  Elbe,  its  wooded  surroundings, 
leading  up  stream  through  Loschwitz,  Pilnitz,  to  Saxon 
Switzerland  and  the  mountain  fortress  of  Koenigstein :  the 
endless  variety  and  amenities  to  be  enjoyed  within  a  short 
railway  journey,  in  these  respects  Dresden  can  scarcely  be 
surpassed  in  the  centre  of  Europe  except,  perhaps,  by  the 
incomparable  town  of  Salzburg.  But  where  are  we  to  match 
the  Bruehlsche  Terrasse  with  its  Belvedere,  and  its  excellent 
concerts  every  evening  all  the  year  round  ?  The  Grosse  Garten, 
with  its  beautiful  ornamental  grounds,  its  shady  groves  and 
avenues  adorned  by  stately  marble  groups,  its  Royal  Palace  of 
the  seventeenth  century  in  front  of  the  lake,  all  still  breathe 
the  air  of  the  rococo.  Each  of  these  features  may  perhaps  be 
excelled  elsewhere,  but  nowhere  have  I  seen  such  a  harmonious 
blending  of  the  spirit  of  that  particular  period  as  in  Dresden. 

The  opera  house  I  have  already  referred  to ;  the  Royal 
46 


DRESDEN    AFTER    1870 

Palace,  the  Zwinger,  the  Green  vaults,  with  their  priceless 
collections ;  Gottfried  Semper's  beautiful  museum  building, 
containing  the  picture  gallery  with  Raphael's  Madonna — all 
these  are  famed  throughout  the  world. 

Divine  service  in  the  Roman  Catholic  Hofkirche,  high  Mass, 
with  the  splendidly  trained  choir  to  which,  on  great  occasions, 
the  Court  singers  of  the  opera  were  added — this  could  scarcely 
be  matched  in  its  impressive  grandeur  outside  Italy.  The 
Frauenkirchc  is  one  of  the  finest  Protestant  churches  of  Europe  ; 
its  noble  architectural  proportions  worthily  interpret  the  past  of 
a  sincere  and  earnest  people.  Visible  from  afar — when  seen 
from  the  height  of  Raecknitz  rising  out  of  the  hazy  mist  of  the 
Elbe  valley — it  reminded  one  of  a  mosque  of  Stamboul,  as 
seen  from  the  altitude  of  Pera.  Imperial  Germany  has  built  a 
ponderous  bridge  over  the  Rhine  at  Cologne,  but  she  has  yet 
to  prove  her  capacity  to  build  another  Frauenkirchc.  To 
listen  to  Luther's  impressive  chorales,  sung  by  the  congregation 
to  the  accompaniment  of  the  organ,  or,  at  Easter  time,  to  be 
present  when  the  "  Passionsmusik "  of  Bach  was  rendered,  as 
perhaps  nowhere  else,  even  in  Germany,  was  to  receive  an 
impression  from  a  world  that  is  gone,  but  still  speaking,  to  one 
in  which  there  is  a  tendency  to  flout  the  past,  to  mock  and 
deride  the  very  virtues  which  gave  it  substance  and  value. 

Even  the  climate  of  Dresden,  notwithstanding  its  severe 
winter,  is  not  without  its  attractiveness.  In  the  summer  there 
is  bathing  in  the  Elbe,  and  in  the  winter  skating  for  weeks 
together,  to  the  accompaniments  of  military  bands  in  the 
Grosse  Garten.  The  King  and  Queen  occasionally  join  in 
the  sport. 

Yet  in  spite  of  its  many  advantages  Dresden  has  hardly  ever 
attracted  men  of  intellectual  eminence,  and  although  the 
picture  gallery  is  said  to  be  the  finest  in  Germany  distinguished 
artists  have  seldom  taken  up  their  abode  in  the  town.  The 
same  may  be  said  of  men  of  letters  and  musicians.  Schiller 
wrote  his  "  Don  Carlos  "  at  Loschwitz,  near  Dresden,  but  he  went 
to  live  at  Jena.  Theodor  Koerner,  who  was  born  in  Dresden, 
went  to  Vienna.    Schopenhauer  lived  in  Dresden  for  four  years, 

47 


GERMAN    MEMORIES 

but  he  ultimately  chose  Frankfort  as  his  residence.  Ludwig 
Tieck,  the  translator  of  Shakespeare,  lived  in  the  Saxon  capital 
for  a  time,  but  the  King  of  Prussia  drew  him  to  Berlin. 
Robert  Schumann  and  Richard  Wagner,  born  Saxons,  turned 
their  backs  on  Dresden.  Thinkers,  poets,  artists  and  musicians 
seem  to  require  something  which  Dresden  is  unable  to  offer. 
The  Saxon  dynasty  had  exhausted  its  capacity  for  the 
patronage  of  great  men  and  great  ideas  in  its  championship  of 
Martin  Luther.  But  Dresden  has  always  been  a  favourite 
resort  of  foreigners.  It  has  long  boasted  of  a  considerable 
foreign  colony  who  were  glad  to  avail  themselves  of  its  many 
facilities  for  the  education  of  their  children.  These  residents 
were  welcomed  and  felt  at  home  at  the  Saxon  Court,  and 
mingled  on  friendly  terms  with  the  aristocracy,  which  their 
limited  means  might  not  have  allowed  them  to  do  in  their  own 
country. 

Dresden  remained  for  some  time  after  the  war  the  resort  of 
those  elements  which  had  not  become  reconciled  to  the  new 
order  of  things.  Hanoverians,  Electorial  Hessians,  Austrians, 
also  a  Russian  colony  and  a  sprinkling  of  the  Polish  element : 
les  comtes  Polonais  de  table  d'hote.  So  strong  was  still  the  feeling 
against  Prussia  that  it  was  possible  to  hear  a  man  spoken  of 
in  a  Dresden  salon  as  " aiissi  gentilliomme  qiiuii  Prussien  petit 
Vetre.''''  Unlike  those  who  change  their  character  with  their  coat, 
the  Saxon  and  the  other  German  States  clung  tenaciously  to 
their  idiosyncrasies,  which  in  those  days  were  looked  upon  as  a 
hindrance  to  national  unity.  To-day  the  individuality  of  the 
smaller  German  States  is  welcomed  in  many  places  as  a  saving 
mercy,  a  plank  of  salvation,  as  against  the  overwhelming 
tendency  to  reduce  everybody  and  everything  to  a  uniform 
mass. 

A  naive  admiration  for  the  British  Peerage  as  the  shrine  of 
good  breeding  may  have  been  a  pardonable  weakness.  I  recall 
a  Saxon  nobleman  treasuring  an  out-of-date  copy  of  "  Burke's 
Peerage"  like  a  Bible,  the  contents  of  which,  too,  he  almost 
knew  by  heart ;  but  no  Saxon  nobleman  would  have  dreamt  of 
dressing  himself  up  in  the  undignified  imitation  of  eccentric 
48 


DRESDEN    AFTER    1870 

English  fashions  as  many  German  aristocrats  now  do.  Occa- 
sional marriages  took  place  with  handsome  English  and 
American  girls,  but  a  systematic  race  after  foreign  women, 
merely  on  account  of  their  money,  was  unknown  in  those 
times. 

Things  may  have  changed  for  aught  I  know,  but  down  to 
the  "  Eighties  "  Dresden  society  retained  much  of  the  qualities 
which  made  it  sympathetic  to  the  educated  foreigner.     The 
Saxon  nobleman  was  true  to  type,  and  in  spite  of  the  supposed 
insincerity  of  the  Saxon,  that  type  was  the  gentleman — distinctly 
Saxon,  but   with    a   strong  affinity  to  the  well-bred  of  other 
countries.      He  retained  his  individuality,  which  was  of  a  virile, 
dignified  stamp.      People  had  not  yet  become  obsessed  by  a 
cult    of  uniforms,   although    that   of  the    blue   Garde-Reiter, 
in  which  regiment  the  sons  of  the  best  Saxon   families  served, 
was  one  of  the  most  comely  of  all  German  military  uniforms. 
I  knew  a  number  of  men  belonging  to  this  corps  cCelite,  and 
with  their  clear-cut  regular  features  and  tall  manly  figures  they 
were  certainly  among  the  most  refined  and  handsome  apparitions 
it  would  be  possible  to  meet  in  the  whole  of  uniformed  Europe. 
The   Saxon  officers  were   silent,   retiring   men,  dowered  with 
a  well-bred  self-restraint.      This  did  not  prevent  them   from 
performing  deeds  of  valour ;  for  in  the  Bohemian  campaign 
the  Saxon  contingent  won  the  admiration  of  friend  and  foe — 
the  valour  of  the  vanquished;  and  in   the  war  of  1870  the 
corps  of  the  Crown  Prince  of  Saxony  shone  with  distinction 
beside   the   best.     Boastful    loquacity,    ill-natured  gossip  and 
slander — what  a  German  Chancellor  has  since  designated  as 
"  carrying  a  sword   in   your  mouth " — were   unknown  among 
them  ;  and  had  they  shown  themselves  would  inevitably  have 
meant  social  ostracism  for  the  talker. 

Together  with  General  von  Fabrice,  the  most  striking 
personality  in  Dresden  was,  I  think.  Dr.  Walther,  the  King's 
body  physician.  They  were  both  men  well  over  six  feet  in 
height,  the  one  with  the  aquiline  features  of  the  soldier — he 
had  been  chief  of  the  staff  of  the  Saxon  army  in  the  campaign 
of  ^^''QG^''  and  subsequently  became  Saxon  Minister  of  War — 

D  49 


GERMAN    MEMORIES 

the   other   with   the  true   cast    of    feature    of  a    clean-shaven 
Aesculapius.    I  tloubt  whether,  before  or  after,  any  mere  physician 
in  Germany  had  occupied  so  prominent  a  position  and  enjoyed 
such  prestige  in  society  as  did  this  distinguished  man,  where  he 
was  spoken  of  as  "  un  prince  de  la  science.''''      He  was  often 
called  away  for  consultation  at  other  German  courts,  and  patients 
came  specially  to  Dresden,  particularly  from  Russia,  to  consult 
him.      Walther's  stately  residence  in  the  Waisenhausstrasse  was 
a  repository  of  the  many  gifts  his  grateful  patients  had  bestowed 
upon  him.      His  high  standing  was  the  more  remarkable  as  it 
was  due  more  to  his  personality  than  to  his  scientific  attain- 
ments or  his   position   as   physician   to   the   King.      He   was 
one  of  those    representatives    of   essentially    German    culture 
embracing  literary,  philosophic  and  scientific  attainments,  and 
possessing  a  keen  critical  taste  for  art  and  music,  together  with 
a  suavity  of  manner  which  is  pre-eminently  a  Saxon  characteristic 
among  Germans,  without  ever,  even  in  the  presence  of  a  king, 
losing  that  indefinable  dignity  which  stamps  one  of  Nature's 
aristocrats.      To  crown  Dr.  Walther's  many-sidedness,  he  was  a 
great  epicure,  and,  as  such,  a  regular  diner  at  the  table  d'hote  of 
the  Stadt  Berlin,  being  admittedly  its  most  distinguished  guest, 
to  whom  the  habitues  looked  up  in  awe  as  supreme  arbiter,  not 
only    on    culinary   matters.      So  highly  did  he  think  of   the 
cuisine  of  that  establishment,  and  so  much  did  he  appreciate  the 
fare,  that  he  looked  upon  the  occasions  when    King    Johann 
asked  him  to  dinner  as  "  lost  days.""      I  have  heard  him  assert 
that  Herr  Marschner's  roast  veal  was  superior  to  anything  of 
the  kind  to  be  had  in  Paris  or  London.      He  was  the  only  guest 
whose  wishes  the  host  would  consider  when  drawing  up  the  menu 
for  the  following  day  :   this  was  now  and  then  done  on  the 
previous  evening,  when  the  Herr  Geheimrath  would  drop  in 
expressly  to  assist  at  the    compilation   of   this    all-important 
gastronomical  document.     But  even  he  was  careful  in  his  dealings 
with  his  host,  for  they  were  both  men  of  irascible  temper,  and 
an  estrangement  might  have  necessitated  a  sacrifice  on  his  part, 
which  he  was  loath  to  make  ;  namely,  a  severance  of  his  connec- 
tion with  the  hotel,  a  possibility  which  will  be  evident  in  the 
50 


DRESDEN    AFTER    1870 

further  course  of  this  chapter.  Things  came  rather  near  to  it 
on  an  occasion  which  illustrated  the  frugal  conditions  of  the 
pre-'TO  days  in  Saxony.  Until  1871  the  price  of  the  table 
d'hote  dinner,  reputed  to  be  the  best  in  Dresden,  and  scarcely 
inferior  to  anything  obtainable  to-day  in  London  and  Paris  for 
5s.,  had  been  2&.  For  the  regular  subscribers  and  habitues 
like  Dr.  Walther,  however,  it  had  only  been  Is.,  though  with 
the  tacit  understanding  that  a  pint  of  wine  should  be  consumed. 
After  the  war  the  regular  price  was  raised  to  3s.  and  Is.  6d. 
for  the  habitues.  With  true  Saxon  thrift  Dr.  Walther  objected 
to  the  surcharge,  although  in  his  other  relations  of  life  he  was 
an  open-handed  and  even  a  generous  man,  but  he  ultimately 
accepted  the  inevitable,  as  did  the  others.  Alas  !  he  was  not 
destined  to  pay  the  increased  price  for  long,  as  he  died  in  the 
same  year.  His  death  was  the  occasion  of  a  great  demonstra- 
tion ;  deputations  from  all  the  hospitals  of  the  city,  as  well  as 
a  large  number  of  military  and  civil  notabilities  of  the  capital, 
followed  the  cortege.  I  saw  as  many  uniforms  at  the  funeral 
as  at  a  high  military  interment.  When  the  procession  passed  his 
favourite  hotel,  the  witty  host,  who  was  walking  with  the  rank 
and  file,  said  to  me  :  "  This  bit  of  the  road  will  be  the  hardest 
for  him,  for  he  cannot  dine  with  us  to-day." 

Another  habitue  of  the  Hotel  Stadt  Berlin  was  a  Prussian 
Major  von  HeygendorfF,  a  name  known  in  German  literary 
annals  as  that  bestowed  upon  the  celebrated  Weimarian 
actress,  Caroline  Jagemann,  favourite  of  the  Grand  Duke  Carl 
August,  and  opponent  o^  Goethe's  theatrical  hegemony. 
Major  von  HeygendorfF  was  her  son  by  the  Grand  Duke,  to 
whom  he  was  said  to  bear  a  striking  resemblance,  the  fact 
being  that  he  was  a  handsome  man,  dignified  in  death  as 
well  as  in  life.  He  died  in  the  hotel  in  which  he  had  lived 
for  many  years.  I  attended  his  funeral  at  which  his  brother, 
a  Saxon  general  of  cavalry,  was  chief  mourner.  I  may  men- 
tion as  an  instance  of  the  old-world  courtesies  prevailing 
among  these  people  that  after  the  burial  service  the  General 
approached  all  present  and  thanked  each  one  individually  for 
his  attendance. 

51 


GERMAN    MEMORIES 

Hans  Hanfstaengl,  the  Saxon  Court  photographer,  was 
another  interesting  habitue  of  the  Hotel  Stadt  Berlin,  and  a 
characteristic  figure  of  that  period.  Photography  had  not 
become  so  universal  a  trade  as  it  has  since  grown  to  be. 
There  were  pretensions  to  art  connected  with  it,  and  they  were 
justified  in  the  case  of  Hans  Hanfstaengl,  whose  relatives,  the 
members  of  the  Munich  firm  of  that  name,  have  since  become 
the  widely-known  reproducers  of  the  works  of  art  of  the  whole 
world.  There  was  nothing  of  the  tradesman  about  him,  but 
a  great  deal  of  dignity ;  wi  thai  he  was  a  very  handsome  man, 
like  his  Munich  nephews,  who  occasionally  came  to  Dresden 
to  see  him.  It  was  said  that  one  of  his  nephews  was  the  real 
cause  of  the  ill-fated  King  of  Bavaria  breaking  off  his 
engagement  with  the  sister  of  the  Empress  of  Austria,  who 
subsequently  married  the  Due  d'Alen^on  and  with  many 
others  perished  in  the  terrible  fire  at  a  charity  bazaar  in 
Paris.  Uncle  and  nephew  were  among  the  handsomest  men 
I  ever  remember  to  have  seen  :  splendid  representatives  of  a 
blond  Bavarian  aristocratic  pattern  of  male  purity  of  features, 
reminding  us  of  the  giant  Germanic  tribes  who  overran  Italy 
and  conquered  Rome.  The  perfection  of  this  class  I  once  met 
in  Munich  at  a  Schiitzen  Fest  in  the  person  of  one,  Leo  Dorn, 
a  chamois  hunter  of  the  Bavarian  Alps,  now  chief  huntsman 
to  the  Prince  Regent  of  Bavaria.  He  looked  like  what  one 
would  fancy  a  German  chieftain  to  have  been  two  thousand 
years  ago. 

When  clients  called  at  the  atelier  of  Hans  Hanfstaengl,  and 
met  him  in  his  brown  velvet  blouse,  airily  smoking  a  cigarette, 
it  was  often  a  question  whether  he  or  the  notability  who  had 
come  to  be  photographed  (for  none  but  notabilities  came)  was 
the  greater  personage  of  the  two.  No  other  photographer  has 
ever  occupied  the  position  of  Hans  Hanfstaengl,  who  emigrated 
to  Berlin  shortly  after  the  war. 

Even  Boniface  himself,  the  traditional  butt  of  the  humorist, 
had  his  hall-mark,  and  it  was  one  of  independence,  pride,  and 
rectitude.  Both  Murat,  King  of  Naples,  and  Porfirio  Diaz, 
then  President  of  Mexico,  were  the  sons  of  innkeepers.  Herr 
52 


DRESDEN    AFTER    1870 

Marschner,  of  the  Stadt  Berlin,  also  had  the  making  of 
something  beyond  the  ordinary  in  him.  So  marked  was 
this  man''s  personality  that  his  guests  felt  flattered  by  his 
attentions,  which  were  only  void  of  a  certain  reserve  when  he 
was  addressing  old  clients  of  the  house.  As  he  walked  into  the 
room  at  dinner-time,  scrupulously  attired  in  dress-coat  and 
white  cravat  and  surveyed  the  scene,  he  had  a  regular  scale 
of  bows  at  his  command,  the  precise  gradation  of  which  any 
courtier  might  have  envied  him.  I  was  present  one  evening 
when  a  Prussian  baron,  noted  for  his  roughness,  imagined  that 
he  had  a  grievance  and  threatened  to  leave  the  house.  "  Do 
as  you  please,  Herr  Baron,"  retorted  Marschner,  and  the  baron 
"  bolted." 

A  peculiar  etiquette  regulated  the  dinner-table.  The 
guests  engaged  in  commerce,  mostly  wine  merchants  from  the 
Rhine  or  manufacturers  of  jewellery  from  Pforzheim  or  Hanau, 
congregated  at  the  further  end  of  the  triangular  table  ;  the 
aristocratic  ahonnes  at  the  rectangular  bend  ;  the  officers  of  the 
Blue  Garde  Reiter  and  sundry  other  casual  visitors,  now  and 
then  a  Russian  prince  displaying  a  gold  cigarette  case,  at  the 
end  nearest  the  door.  I  remember,  among  others,  a  Russian 
General  von  Osten  Sacken,  who  had  commanded  a  cavalry 
brigade  in  the  Crimea. 

A  young  Russian  named  Apheraky,  of  that  peculiar  type 
which  is  Russian  or  nothing,  has  also  remained  among  my 
Dresden  memories  of  that  time.  As  in  the  case  of  some 
Englishmen  with  the  study  of  philosophy  or  music,  intel- 
lectual studies  of  an  absorbing  kind  are  apt  to  lead  towards 
eccentricity  with  Russians.  It  is  as  if  the  general  level  of 
the  Russian  people  is  so  much  out  of  touch  with  intellectual 
matter  that  higher  culture  becomes  an  exotic,  and  to  a  certain 
extent  an  intoxicant,  bringing  eccentricity  in  its  train  even 
among  the  most  gifted  ;  as  witness  Tolstoi  and  many  others. 

Apheraky  had  begun  life  as  a  page-in -waiting  to  the 
Emperor  Alexander  II.,  but  had  withdrawn  from  Court  life 
in  favour  of  scientific  pursuits.  With  him  it  was  entomology 
(the   study  of  butterflies).      He    told   me   that,  after  passing 

53 


GERMAN    MEMORIES 

several  months  in  the  Caucasus  collecting  specimens,  he  had 
come  to  Dresden  expressly  to  examine  the  collection  of  the 
proprietor  of  the  Diana-bad,  a  well-known  collector.  He 
stayed  opposite  the  opera  house  at  the  Hotel  Bellevue,  where 
his  room  was  crowded  with  butterflies  in  glass  cases.  These, 
however,  by  no  means  exhausted  the  energetic  Russian's 
activities.  Like  many  Russians  he  engaged  in  everything  at 
high  pressure  that  only  a  powerful  nervous  system  can  stand 
in  the  long  run.  He  was  absorbed  in  music,  and  more 
particularly  in  the  study  of  Wagner's  operas.  He  subscribed 
for  a  corner  seat  in  the  front  row  of  the  stalls  near  the  door, 
so  that  he  could  go  out,  smoke  a  cigarette,  and  return  without 
disturbing  anybody.  This  he  did  almost  every  quarter  of  an 
hour  during  the  whole  performance  !  His  Wagnerian  cult  led 
him  to  take  the  train  to  Vienna  expressly  to  hear  the  "  Flying 
Dutchman "  at  the  opera  house,  returning  to  Dresden  the 
following  day,  and  comparing  and  criticising  the  performance 
in  both  places  from  that  of  the  prima  donna  down  to  the 
performance  of  each  single  player  in  the  orchestra.  But  even 
music  did  not  exhaust  this  curious  creature's  energies.  He 
was  an  athlete  of  no  ordinary  proficiency.  In  order  to 
demonstrate  his  ability  he  let  himself  drop  down  on  the  carpet 
with  his  legs  stretched  out  at  right  angles  from  the  body,  as 
clowns  do  at  a  circus,  and  told  me,  as  he  did  it,  it  was  so 
dangerous  that  misjudging  the  angle  when  touching  the 
ground  might  irreparably  injure  the  spine. 

Like  other  Russians  I  have  met  he  held  himself  aloof  from 
German  society,  and,  accustomed  as  they  are  to  a  life  of 
lavish  profusion  and  reckless  money-spending,  looked  down 
upon  everything  German  which  was  not  specifically  scientific 
and  musical  as  mesguin  and  Philistine. 

One  day  he  asked  me  to  lunch  Math  him  at  what  was 
reputed  to  be  the  most  expensive  oyster  shop  in  Dresden.  It 
was  one  that  his  countrymen  patronised  because  of  its  excellent 
Russian  caviare  and  tea.  When  the  bill — which  I  thought 
very  extravagant — was  presented,  he  drew  a  capacious 
portfolio  from  his  pocket.  It  contained  bank  notes  for 
54 


DRESDEN    AFTER    1870 

thousands  of  thalers,  and,  giving  the  waiter  a  thaler  as  a 
"  tip,""  he  turned  to  me,  saying  :  "  What  a  country  this  is  ! 
I  assure  you  it  is  absokitely  impossible  to  spend  money  here  ! " 

A  feature  of  German  life,  which  was  exceptionally  charac- 
teristic of  Dresden  in  my  time,  was  the  so-called  "  Kneipenlc- 
ben,"  in  which  the  natural  social  expansiveness  of  the  German 
character  found  a  congenial  outlet.  Much  has  been  said  and 
written  of  the  excrescences  of  German  beer-house  life,  yet 
within  due  limits  it  has  its  healthy  and  stimulating  aspects — 
more  particularly  with  regard  to  the  majority  of  the  educated 
classes,  whose  limited  means  would  not  allow  of  their  meeting 
their  friends  and  acquaintances  in  their  own  homes.  The 
peculiar  thing  about  these  resorts  was  that  the  more  old- 
fashioned  the  building,  the  thicker  the  walls,  the  smaller  the 
windows,  the  lower  the  ceilings  and  the  less  sunlight,  the 
more  popular  the  restaurant  and  the  more  select  the 
company. 

Here  between  twelve  and  one  o"'clock,  in  the  afternoon 
between  six  and  seven-thirty,  and  occasionally  in  the  evening 
after  the  theatre  or  after  evening  parties,  officers  and  govern- 
ment officials,  even  very  high  ones,  lawyers,  actors,  musicians, 
men  of  letters  and  others  would  gather  at  their  "  stamm- 
tisch  "  (a  reserved  table)  over  a  glass  of  beer  and  discuss  the 
events  of  the  day,  sometimes  even  more  weighty  matters. 
Here  they  found  that  social  intercourse,  that  stimulus  and 
entertainment  which  English  clubs  are  supposed  to  provide, 
but  very  rarely  do  so,  at  least  in  London,  where  it  is  no 
unusual  occurrence  for  a  man  to  be  a  member  of  a  club  for 
ten,  twenty,  or  even  thirty  years  without  getting  to  know  a 
single  soul  outside  those  who  proposed  and  seconded  his 
membership.  A  further  pleasant  feature  of  these  German 
wine  or  beer  restaurants  was  that  everything  supplied, 
whether  food  or  drink,  was  invariably  of  the  best  quality  and 
was  always  at  very  moderate  price.  This  latter  circumstance, 
however,  did  not  prevent  the  proprietors  of  the  leading  estab- 
lishments, by  unremitting  attention  to  their  business,  from 
amassing  ample  fortunes.     The   most  stimulating   gatherings 

55 


GERMAN    MEMORIES 

were  those  at  which  lawyers,  actors,  men  of  learning  and 
letters,  doctors  and  professors,  used  to  meet ;  but  they  were  by 
no  means  the  only  ones.  I  have  read  many  works  on  Goethe, 
among  them  Hermann  Grimm"'s  instructive  lectures,  but  no 
writer  ever  brought  the  supremacy  of  Goethe  as  a  lyrical 
poet  so  convincingly  home  to  me  as  did  some  conversations  I 
had  in  the  "  seventies  "  in  a  little  cosy  corner  of  a  Dresden 
wine-shop,  sometimes  prolonged  until  the  small  hours  of  the 
morning. 

This  partiality  to  "  stammtisch ""  gatherings  pervaded  all 
classes  down  to  that  of  the  small  artisan,  and  it  was  curious 
to  note  the  artifices  employed  by  the  rival  restaurant-keepers 
to  attract  customers.  Advertisements  in  the  local  papers 
would  announce  special  dishes,  special  brews  on  tap,  winding 
up  with  the  announcement  of  a  dance  on  Saturday  evening 
and  a  concert  on  Sunday.  In  the  summer  season  Sunday 
excursions  to  Saxon  Switzerland  would  be  arranged  at  the 
"  stammtisch "  and  laconically  announced  in  the  newspaper 
under  the  heading,  "  Look  out  for  friends  at  five  o''clock  next 
Sunday  morning  at  the  Bohemian  railway  station,"  followed 
by  the  signature  of  the  Gesangverein  or  Kegel-Club  (skittle 
club)  from  which  it  emanated. 

Independently  of  the  regular  "  stammtisch ""  as  a  place  of 
meeting  their  friends,  the  members  of  the  Royal  Court 
Theatre  and  of  the  art  colony  of  Dresden  generally  had  a 
club  of  their  own  at  Helbig''s  restaurant,  right  opposite  the 
opera  house  overlooking  the  Elbe  and,  from  its  picturesque 
situation,  known  as  the  Florence  of  the  Elbe.  A  suite  of 
rooms  was  set  apart  for  their  special  use. 

There  I  used  to  meet  Tichatscheck,  the  greatest  tenor  of 
his  time,  the  creator  of  the  parts  of  Rienzi,  Tannhauser, 
and  Lohengrin.  He  was  an  inveterate  smoker,  and  at  over 
sixty  years  of  age  smoked  from  morning  to  night.  He  would 
only  throw  his  cigar  away  when  he  entered  the  theatre  to 
dress  before  appearing  on  the  stage.  But  my  most  elevating 
memory  of  the  artists'  club  is  the  privilege  I  once  enjoyed  of 
playing  a  game  of  chess  with  Emil  Devrient.  The  entree  to 
56 


DRESDEN    AFTER    1870 

the  Kuenstler  Club  brought  me  into  social  contact  with  many 
members  of  the  theatrical  world  who  were  not  among  its 
frequenters :  Friiulein  Pauline  Ulrich,  long  one  of  the  most 
charming  Dresden  actresses — she  joined  the  Dresden  theatre 
as  a  girl  in  the  year  1859,  and  to-day,  with  the  honorary 
title  of  "  Frau  Professor,"  at  seventy-five  years  of  age,  she  is 
still  one  of  its  most  distinguished  members ;  Frau  Blirde-Ney, 
the  creator  of  the  part  of  Elsa  in  "Lohengrin,"  who  had 
sung  in  London  at  Covent  Garden  ;  her  husband,  Herr  Biirde, 
one  of  the  most  entertaining  of  causeurs ;  Karl  Kobertstein,  the 
actor,  a  man  of  considerable '  literary  attainments,  and  his 
beautiful  wife,  a  direct  descendant  of  Lessing,  the  poet ; 
finally,  the  two  musical  directors  of  the  Royal  Opera,  Karl 
Krebs  and  Julius  Rietz,  both  of  them  composers  of  note. 

Before  coming  to  Dresden,  Rietz  had  been  the  successor  of 
Mendelssohn  as  director  of  the  celebrated  Gewandhaus  concerts 
at  Leipzig  and  enjoyed  a  great  reputation  as  a  musician.  He 
was  recognised  as  a  supreme  authority  on  Bach,  Mozart  and 
Beethoven,  and  was  particularly  expert  as  a  director  of 
Wagner's  operas.  He  had  a  sharp  wit  and  a  bitter  tongue, 
and  was  altogether  looked  upon  as  the  man  of  most  intellectual 
force  and  culture  in  the  Dresden  theatrical  world.  Speaking 
to  me  one  day  about  Richard  Wagner,  he  said  :  "  Great  as  the 
Bayreuth  project  may  be,  it  is  still  incommensurate  with  the 
vast  possibilities  of  Wagner's  genius,  but,  alas  !  the  uncongenial 
egotism  of  the  man  is  equally  marked." 

Among  stars  that  only  shone  as  comets  on  the  theatrical 
firmament  of  Dresden  was  the  great  actress,  Clara  Ziegler, 
who(se  powerful  impersonation  of  Grillparzer's  "  Medea  "  made 
such  an  impression  upon  me  that  some  years  afterwards  I 
translated  this  play — which  had  earned  the  encomium  of 
Byron — into  English  blank  verse  and  published  it  in  London, 
though  I  never  succeeded  in  my  efforts  to  get  this  magnificent 
work  put  on  the  English  stage. 

Another  of  my  acquaintances  in  the  Dresden  art-world  was 
the  renowned  bass  singer,  Emil  Scaria,  of  the  Royal  Court 
Theatre.        He    was   an   Austrian   by   birth   and   subsequently 

57 


GERMAN    MEMORIES 

became  one  of  Richard  Wagner^s  most  noted  singers  at 
Bayreuth.^  He  was  high  in  favour  with  the  Bismarck  family, 
whose  acquaintance  I  think  he  had  made  at  Kissingen,  and  I 
remember  the  impression  which  this  envied  intimacy  created 
when  he  told  us  that  he  possessed  a  lead  pencil  which  the  great 
statesman  himself  had  used.  His  most  interesting  reminis- 
cences were,  however,  connected  with  Richard  Wagner  and  his 
entourage  at  Bayreuth.  On  one  occasion  Wagner  had  invited 
a  few  friends  consisting  of  the  musicians  and  singers  of  his 
theatre  to  spend  the  evening  at  his  villa  Wahnfried  after 
the  performance :  "  We  were  gathered  together  in  the  music- 
room  when  it  was  rumoured  that  the  '  Master '  refused  to  be 
present.  The  reason  was  soon  whispered  about :  it  was 
because  a  German  sovereign  prince  had  appeared  unexpectedly 
among  the  guests.  In  our  dilemma  Frau  Cosima  asked  me  to 
go  upstairs  and  try  to  persuade  her  husband  to  come  down.  I 
did  as  I  was  bid,  only  to  find  Wagner  in  a  fit  of  ill-humour  at 
the  presumption  of  a  Duke  (or  a  Grand  Duke,  I  forget  which) 
intruding  unbidden  among  his  friends. 

"  '  You  know  I  am  a  somewhat  portly  personage,'  said 
Scaria  (he  was  a  man  of  huge  build)  ;  but  1  assure  you  that  in 
his  temper  Wagner  used  to  make  us  all  tremble  and  I  took  to 
flight.  As  I  came  out  of  the  room  I  met  Frau  Wagner,  and 
urged  her  to  see  what  she  could  do  with  her  husband.  She  went 
in  and  finally  prevailed  upon  him  to  come  down.  But  here  the 
incident  was  by  no  means  at  an  end,  for  when  Wagner  entered 
the  music-room  with  his  wife  leaning  on  his  arm  he  walked 
demonstratively  round  the  room  greeting  everybody,  until  only 
last  of  all  he  stopped  before  his  Highness  and  made  a  stiff 
obeisance."" 

It  is  well  known  that  Wagner  was  of  a  very  freakish 
disposition,  and  that  almost  to  the  end  of  his  life  he 
retained  a  marvellously  juvenile  elasticity  of  body  as  well  as 
of  mind.  He  would  turn  somersaults,  perform  various  antics, 
and  walk  on  the  floor  on  his  hands  to  the  delight  of  his 
intimate  friends.  One  day  Herr  von  Huelsen,  the  director 
1  Scaria  died  in  Dresden  1886. 

58 


DRESDEN    AFTER    1870 

of  the  Royal  Berlin  Opera  House,  was  announced.  What  was 
his  surprise  on  entering  the  room  to  see  the  great  composer 
standing  slantwise  on  his  head  at  the  corner  of  the  grand 
piano  !  Another,  though  scarcely  amiable,  instance  of  Wagner's 
eccentricity  is  the  following  :  The  old  Emperor  William  cared 
little  for  Wagner's  music,  but  he  nevertheless  paid  a  visit  to 
Bayreuth  out  of  compliment  to  the  composer,  and  patiently 
sat  in  his  box  through  the  performance.  Between  the  acts 
the  Emperor's  aide-de-camp.  Count  X,  went  behind  the  scenes 
and  told  Wagner  that  His  Majesty  would  like  to  speak 
to  him.  Wagner,  who,  as  usual  on  such  occasions,  was  in  a 
state  of  great  excitement  and  bustling  about  among  the  scene- 
shifters,  asked  the  Count  to  excuse  him  as  he  was  busy 
arranging  matters  for  the  next  act.  The  Count,  in  a  some- 
what peremptory  tone  replied  :  '  Herr  Wagner,  a  wish  of  His 
Majesty  is  a  command  ! '  '  What  ! '  replied  Wagner  in  a  tower- 
ing passion,  '  how  dare  you  to  command  me  here  in  my  own 
house  !     Clear  out  immediately  ! '  " 


59 


CHAPTER  V 

THE  GLASS  WORKS 

As  already  indicated  in  the  last  chapter  my  visits  to  Germany 
during  the  'seventies  were  principally  connected  with  business. 
They  comprised  occasional  trips  to  Thuringia,  Bavaria, 
Bohemia,  and  other  parts ;  but  my  main  objective  was  the 
famous  glass  factory  of  the  Josephinenhutte  at  Schreiberhau 
in  the  Giant  Mountains  (Prussian  Silesia),  thus  named  after 
the  wife  of  Count  Schaffgotsch,  who  caused  the  works  to 
be  erected  in  1842.  My  London  firm  took  a  large  proportion 
of  the  produce  of  the  factory  ;  this  in  conjunction  with  my 
frequent  visits  afforded  many  opportunities  for  gaining  an 
insight  into  the  manufactory  and  observing  the  social  life  of 
the  community,  in  which  I  freely  participated.  It  is  this 
neighbourhood  which  forms  the  background  of  several  of 
Gerhardt  Hauptmann's  thrilling  plays.  If  I  devote  a  chapter 
to  this  particular  phase  of  my  German  memories  it  is  because 
the  factory  in  question  was  in  many  ways  typical  of  the 
patriarchal  condition  of  industry  prevailing  in  those  parts  and 
which  is  no  more  likely  to  be  reproduced  than  the  type  of 
monarch  I  have  already  dealt  with  in  Chapter  III. 

In  those  days  many  industries  were  carried  on  in  remote 
country  districts.  Mother  earth  yielded  the  raw  material,  clay, 
quartz,  or  iron,  the  timber  of  the  landowner's  forest  supplied 
the  fuel  for  the  oven,  and  the  mountain  stream  the  water 
power  to  drive  the  mill.  The  Prussian  Government  con- 
tributed its  share  towards  the  development  of  native  industry 
by  the  construction  of  magnificent  roads  even  in  out-of-the-way 
places  and  in  spite  of  great  engineering  difficulties.  By  this 
collaboration  of  forces  it  came  about  that  wild  forest  districts 
60 


THE    GLASS    WORKS 

were  now  and  then,  as  in  the  United  States  of  America, 
within  the  lapse  of  a  few  years  turned  into  industrious  bee- 
hives. More  particularly  was  this  the  case  when  exceptional 
individual  ability  happened  to  crown  the  efforts  of  Government 
and  landowner  among  a  population  which,  thanks  to  a  century 
of  Prussian  school  teaching,  stood  on  a  high  educational  level. 

Glass-making  is  a  very  old  calling  in  those  parts,  a 
fact  which  finds  its  natural  explanation  in  the  circumstance 
that  one  of  the  principal  ingredients  of  glass,  arenacious  quartz, 
is  plentifully  found  in  the  neighbourhood.  It  seems  certain 
that  a  glass  smelting  house  existed  in  Schreiberhau  as  far  back 
as  the  year  1366. 

After  Frederick  the  Great's  Silesian  campaigns  in  which  he 
acquired  the  present  province  known  as  Prussian  Silesia,  which 
had  previously  formed  part  of  the  domains  of  the  house  of 
Habsburg,  a  Commission  was  sent  into  the  Giant  Mountains 
to  mark  out  the  boundary  between  Prussia  and  Austria.  Its 
members  were  hospitably  entertained  in  Schreiberhau  by  a 
glass  manufacturer  named  Preusler  and  stayed  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood a  considerable  time.  In  return  for  the  attention  and 
hospitality  they  received  the  Commissioners  offered  to  compen- 
sate Herr  Preusler  by  a  large  grant  of  land,  which  would  have 
considerably  increased  his  own  possessions.  It  is  characteristic 
of  the  mental  range  and  simple  character  of  that  class  of  man 
at  the  time  that  the  prospect  of  having  additional  land  to  look 
after  frightened  the  old  gentleman,  who  begged  and  prayed  to 
be  excused.  "^      So  at  least  runs  the  story  in  these  hills. 

The  business  of  a  glass  manufacturer  in  those  days  was 
carried  on  in  a  very  primitive  fashion.  The  raw  glass  was 
blown  at  a  glass  smelting  house,  situated  in  the  midst  of  a 
forest,  the  wood  of  which   supplied  the  fuel.     It  was  taken 

1  A  similar  story  of  simplicity  is  related  of  Schadow,  the  famous  sculptor. 
One  day  the  King  Frederick  William  IV.  came  into  his  studio  and  admiring 
his  work  said,  "  Really,  Schadow,  I  must  see  that  you  get  the  Order  Paur  le 
Mdrite."  "Oh,  pray  your  Majesty,  do  not  do  that  to  an  old  man.  But  if 
you  would  graciously  grant  me  a  favour,  I  would  ask  your  Majesty  that  the 
order  be  conferred  on  my  son.".  As  a  matter  of  fact  Schadow's  son,  who 
became  a  distinguished  painter,  did  get  the  Order  many  years  afterwards. 

01 


GERMAN    MEMORIES 

thence  in  winter  in  sledges,  or  carried  by  men  in  wooden 
trucks  on  their  backs  in  the  summer,  or  by  carts  to  the 
refinery  where  it  was  cut  and  polished  by  wheels  driven  by  the 
mill  stream  opposite.  Twice  a  year  the  head  of  the  firm 
would  journey  by  road  with  his  samples  to  Leipzig  fair, 
where  he  met  his  customers  from  all  parts  of  Germany,  the 
orders  which  he  took  on  these  occasions  keeping  his  factory 
going  all  the  year  round.  These  journeys  were,  in  many 
cases,  the  only  "  outings  "  which  such  men  ever  had,  and  they 
made  the  most  of  them.  Leipzig  became  for  the  time  a  pan- 
demonium of  carousing  and  dissipation,  as  it  still  is  at  fair 
time. 

In  1838  a  remarkable  young  man,  named  Franz  Pohl,  came 
over  to  Schreiberhau  from  Neuwelt  (Bohemia)  as  an  assistant 
in  the  glass  works,  which  still  belonged  to  the  Preusler  family. 
He  had  studied  chemistry  in  Prague  and  at  the  technical 
school  of  Berlin,  and  the  Prussian  government  recognising 
his  abilities  awarded  him  a  stipend  and  sent  him  on  a  journey 
to  study  the  most  celebrated  glass  factories  of  Bohemia, 
Bavaria  and  France.  He  was  a  man  of  extraordinary  mental 
gifts  as  well  as  physical  endowments,  for  although  of  short 
stature  he  was  of  a  very  powerful  build  and  of  marvellous 
athletic  vigour.  On  broad  shoulders  rested  a  head  of  a  most 
commanding  type  ;  the  large,  piercing  grey  eagle  eyes  were 
those  of  a  born  ruler  of  men.  Here  was  a  union  of  physical 
and  mental  qualities  such  as  I  have  rarely  met,  although  he 
was  past  his  prime  when  I  first  came  to  those  parts.  He  was 
the  "  Superman "  fifty  years  before  Nietzsche  hit  upon  the 
term.  He  married  Herr  Preusler''s  daughter  and  soon  became 
a  prominent  personage  in  the  neighbourhood.  His  reputation 
as  a  strong  personality  and  a  great  hunter  of  deer  spread  even 
to  the  valley.  There  the  lord  of  the  manor,  Count  Schaff- 
gotsch,  in  his  chateau  at  Warmbrunn  heard  of  him,  got  to 
know  him,  took  a  liking  to  him,  arid  offered  to  build  new 
works  specially  for  him,  which  he  should  manage  indepen- 
dently. This  offer  was  accepted,  and  virgin  forest  was 
cleared  to  make  room  for  what  at  least  for  a  time  became  the 
62 


THE    GLASS    WORKS 

foremost  coloured  glass  works  in  Germany  and  known  all  over 
the  world. 

Many  a  time  later,  when  sitting  at  night  watching  the  glass 
furnace,  he  would  tell  me  how  the  factory  had  come  into 
being — how  from  small  beginnings,  almost  by  individual 
effort,  all  had  been  achieved.  He  told  of  the  wild  state  of 
affairs  in  those  mountains  in  days  gone  by,  where,  in  close 
proximity  to  the  Bohemia  frontier,  law  was  often  set  at 
defiance  by  a  wild  and  lawless  class  of  poachers,  and,  if  need 
were,  murderers ;  of  his  various  night  encounters  with  those 
desperadoes  in  the  depths  of  the  forest ;  of  hair-breath  'scapes 
from  knife,  pistol,  and  rifle  ;  of  the  truculence  of  the  rough 
working-class  population,  mostly  from  Bohemia,  often  intoxi- 
cated by  raw  potato  spirit,  the  only  beverage  obtainable,  and 
from  whom  he  was  obliged  to  choose  his  workmen  ;  and  how 
he  carried  a  cow-hide  whip  in  his  pocket,  and  if  the  workmen 
failed  to  obey  orders  laid  it  on  their  backs.  These  stories 
excited  my  youthful  imagination  when  I  first  went  from 
school  to  stay  in  these  momitains,  and  clothed  the  reciter 
with  a  halo.      At  that  time,  however,  all  this  had  changed. 

The  Prussian  Government,  ever  intent  on  encouraging 
home  industries,  had  offered  a  prize  of  five  hundred  thalers  for 
the  re-discovery  of  the  recipe  for  producing  white  glass  enamel 
(known  to  the  Romans  and  lost  with  them),  of  which  the  far- 
famed  Portland  vase  is  still  the  most  beautiful  example  extant. 
Herr  Pohl  solved  this  problem,  together  with  many  others, 
and  in  the  exultation  of  his  triumph  published  the  formula 
and  gained  the  prize.  Had  he  kept  it  a  secret  this  alone 
would  have  brought  him  a  large  fortune,  but  those  were  days 
in  which  enthusiasm  for  their  vocation  made  people  often  over- 
look the  more  practical  aspects  of  self-interest.  The  reputation 
of  the  works  grew,  and  King  Frederick  William  IV.  and  the 
Emperor  Frederick  (when  still  Crown  Prince)  paid  them  a  visit 
and  partook  of  the  director's  hospitality.^ 

1  I  remember  piloting  the  late  Grand  Duke  of  Hesse  over  the  glass-house 
one  day  when  he  came  incognito  with  his  son,  the  present  Grand  Duke,  and 
his  daughter,  now  Empress  of  Russia. 

63 


GERMAN    MEMORIES 

When  I  came  to  the  factory  it  was  in  the  height  of  its 
prosperity.  Two  well-kept  inns  welcomed  the  traveller  with 
excellent  food  and  wines ;  picturesque  roomy  cottages,  in 
what  is  known  as  the  "  Black  Forest "  style,  with  garden 
attached,  were  dotted  over  hill  and  dale  and  tenanted  by 
the  workmen,  many  of  whom  owned  them  as  their  property. 
A  picturesque  shooting-house  with  an  ample  rifle-range  was 
at  the  service  of  the  workmen,  most  of  whom  belonged  to 
a  uniformed  rifle  guild,  which  held  two  annual  meetings. 

There  were  carefully  laid-out  grass  plots  with  ground  set 
apart  for  various  kinds  of  rare  pheasants,  which  could  be  seen 
disporting  themselves  under  wire  netting ;  splashing  fountains, 
and  tiny  waterfalls  issuing  from  the  rocks  in  streamlets 
which  were  replete  with  trout,  as  was  also  the  mountain 
stream  which  meandered  through  the  village.  These  were 
features  which  could  not  fail  to  strike  the  visitor  who  came 
to  this  model  village  situated  in  the  midst  of  forests  two 
thousand  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea. 

At  that  time  the  demand  for  the  products  of  the  factory 
from  England  and  the  United  States  alone  often  exceeded  the 
supply.  Thus  sometimes  it  was  almost  a  favour  for  merchants 
to  be  supplied  with  goods.  I  have  known  buyers  from  New 
York  come  all  the  way  only  to  be  told  that  their  orders  could 
not  be  accepted.  The  German  home  market,  upon  which 
I  understand  the  factory  now  mainly  depends,  had  not  risen  in 
those  days. 

But  of  greater  interest  than  the  dry  data  of  commercial 
prosperity  were  the  social  conditions  prevailing,  which,  as 
already  indicated,  were  of  a  patriarchal  nature.  The  relations 
between  workmen  and  work-giver  were  then  such  as  are  scarcely 
possible  to-day.  In  this  respect  the  conditions  of  the 
Josephinenhuette  were  even  in  those  days  exceptional,  for  they 
were  due  to  the  genial  initiative  of  one  man. 

There  was  a  strong  element  of  what  Nietzsche  calls  the 
"  human  all  too  human "  to  be  found  in  those  hills.  On 
certain  occasions  a  spirit  of  social  goodwill  and  appreciation 
would  stand  forth  in  such  a  manner  as  I  have  never  seen 
64. 


THE    GLASS    WORKS 

elsewhere  under  like  conditions.  Thus  on  the  birthday  of  the 
director  the  village  school  children  arrived  bearing  flowers  and 
sang  a  chorale,  followed  by  the  recitation  of  a  congratulatory 
poem.  Then  came  the  leading  officials  of  the  factory  in  silk 
hats,  white  ties,  and  black  dress-coats — worn  only  at  birth- 
days, weddings,  and  funerals — to  express  their  good  wishes. 
They  were  entertained  at  dinner  in  the  evening.  I  have 
known  a  special  dinner  to  be  given  in  honour  of  a  person 
whose  birthday  happened  to  occur  during  his  visit  to  the 
factory.  The  dinner  was  set  for  the  previous  evening,  and 
its  purpose  was  kept  secret  from  the  guest.  Quite  unex- 
pectedly, at  the  stroke  of  midnight,  the  strains  of  a  hymn 
were  heard  outside.  A  band  stood  out  in  the  snow  on  a 
bitterly  cold  January  night.  It  consisted  of  the  decorators 
of  the  factory,  musicians  nearly  all  of  them.  They  had 
spontaneously  assembled  to  testify  their  appreciation  of  the 
"  birthday  child's "  activity  which  had  contributed  to  the 
prosperity  of  the  factory. 

The  musicians  were  invited  to  join  the  party  over  a  glass 
of  Rhine  wine,  and  a  spirit  of  conviviality  soon  became 
general.  Even  the  musical  instruments — the  cornet,  the 
horn,  the  trom.bone,  and  the  basses — which  had  been  nearly 
frozen  under  the  influence  of  fifteen  degrees  of  cold,  and  had 
emitted  strange  discordant  sounds,  thawed  in  the  congenial 
surroundings  and  played  their  part  vigorously  into  the  small 
hours  of  the  morning;.  Then  the  drummer  with  his  marrow- 
stirring  flat  side-drum,  which  he  had  beaten  "  before  Paris  " 
in  a  Grenadier  regiment,  finished  the  evening's  entertainment 
by  beating  the  "  tattoo  ""  ! 

A  gospel  of  efficiency  had  gone  forth  from  one,  who, 
thorough  and  proficient  in  everything  he  undertook,  tolerated 
no  dilettantism,  and  under  whose  supervision  all  had  to  be  done 
thoroughly  from  start  to  finish.  In  the  same  way  as  the  little 
barefooted  boy  who  had  tended  the  geese  was  taken  into  the 
atelier  and  set  to  drawing  for  a  couple  of  years  before  he  was 
allowed  to  take  a  hand  in  decorating  a  piece  of  glass,  nobody 
was  thought  fit  to  handle  a  gun   who   had  not  first   learnt 

jt  65 


GERMAN    MEMORIES 

to  clean  it  with  the  skill  of  a  gunmaker,  or  to  ride  a  horse 
without  knowing  how  to  put  on  harness  and  saddle,  and, 
if  needed,  groom  the  animal.  The  director's  own  son  set  an 
example  in  all  this.  There  was  hardly  a  form  of  mechanical 
work  for  which  a  skilled  expert  could  not  have  been  found  in 
the  village  of  Schreiberhau ;  metal  casting,  gun  making,  watch 
making,  photography,  even  violin  construction.  That  nearly 
every  third  person  in  the  village  was  proficient  on  one  or  more 
musical  instruments  was  not  peculiar  to  the  village  of 
Schreiberhau  ;  it  is  generally  characteristic  of  those  parts. 

The  result  of  this  schooling  produced  an  exceptional  spirit  of 
emulation  and  interest   on  the  part  of  the  workmen   for   their 
work.      They  took  a  genuine  pride  in  their  labour.      It  con- 
tinually happened  that  samples  of  glass  or  pottery  from  other 
countries— China,  Japan,   France,    or  England — would  arrive 
at  the  factory  as  models  to  work  from  or  to  improve  upon. 
I  have  known  a  whole  atelier  of  twenty  decorators  kept  going 
for  several  years  on  a  single  French  pattern  :  an  order  running 
into  some  thousands  of  pounds.      It  was  highly  gratifying  to 
watch  the  interest  taken  by  workmen,  whether  decorators,  glass- 
cutters,  or  glass-blowers,  in  such  foreign   samples,  and  to  see 
their  anxiety  to  improve  upon  the  work  of  others.      There  was 
no  eight   hours'  work  gospel  among  these  men.      They  would 
toil   far   into  the  night  if  it  was  a   case  of  securino-  an  order 
which    otherwise    might   have   been    given   to   another    manu- 
facturer.     This  spirit  of  emulation  and  pride  in  their  labour 
brought  about  cordial  relations  between  the  workmen  and  the 
directing  heads  of  the  factory.      Some  of  these  were  passionate 
Jdger  (sportsmen),   and  as  the  director  of  the  works  had  some 
shooting    in    the  hills    and   rented    excellent    partridge    land 
from   the   peasant    proprietors    of    the    villages   in    the    valley 
of  Hirschberg,  he  used  to  invite  a  number  of  the  best  work- 
men and  the  leading    villagers    to    take    part   in   his    shoots, 
which   were    marked   by    true    patriarchal    conditions   of  good 
fellowship.      These  shooting  expeditions,   like  everything  else, 
were  undertaken  in  a  workmanlike  spirit,  and  made  great  calls 
on  the  physical   endurance  of  those   who   took  part  in  them. 
66 


THE    GLASS    WORKS 

The  start  was  made  at  five  o'clock  in  the  morning,  and  it  took 
two  hours  by  carriage,  of  which  a  number  were  always  at  hand, 
to  arrive  at  our  destination.  A  day's  tramp  in  the  broiling  sun 
over  hill  and  valley  from  seven  in  the  morning  until  sunset  was 
an  experience  to  remember.  The  whole  expense  was  borne  by 
the  director  of  the  factory. 

On  summer  evenings,  when  work  was  done,  we  would  some- 
times adjourn  to  the  woods  which  encompass  the  glass  works 
on  every  side.  These  "  green  palaces  of  the  nightingales " 
stretch  away  many  miles  in  the  direction  of  Bohemia.  There 
we  would  gather  round  a  fire  ;  master  and  men,  foresters  and 
stray  visitors.  We  baked  potatoes  in  the  burning  embers,  and 
now  and  then  some  trout,  caught  in  the  mountain  stream, 
which  rushed  past  within  sight  and  hearing,  would  be  added  to 
the  meal,  which  a  copious  supply  of  beer  from  the  neighbour- 
ing inn  would  help  to  wash  down.  There  we  sat  conversing 
and  smoking  until  the  midnight  hour.  When  the  moon  was 
on  high,  and  the  humour  lent  itself  to  song,  as  it  often  did 
among  these  musical  people,  we  would  start  singing  Mendels- 
sohn's beautiful  part  song,  Wer  hat  dich  Dti  schoener  Wald, 
or  Friedrich  Silcher's  even  more  beautiful 

Zu  Strassburg  auf  der  Schanz  da  ging  mein  Trauern  an  ; 
Da<?  Alphorn  hoert  ich  drueben  wohl  anstimmen, 
Ins  Vaterland  musst  ich  hinueber  schwimmen  : 
Das  ging  nicht  an.  i 

It  was  hard  to  come  back  to  a  London  office  from  such 
nature  associations ;  even  the  luxurious  lounge  of  a  Piccadilly 
club-house  failed  to  fill  the  void  which  their  memory  recalled. 

The  director  of  the  works  had  been  to  Paris  and  seen  how 
the  atelier  system  in  vogue  there  had  stimulated  the  energies 
of  the  individual  workman,  and  he  introduced  it  into  the 
Silesian  hills  with  marked  success  for  the  time  being.  Decora- 
tors  who  showed  ability  were  encouraged  to  start  ateliers  of 
their  own.      They  drew  apprentices  round  them  and  the  work 

1  Old  German  ballad  of  a  home-sick  Swiss  soldier  in  garrison  at  Strasburg 
who  is  supposed  to  desert  through  hearing  the  Swiss  Alpine  horn  and  is 
condemned  to  death. 

67 


GERMAN    MEMORIES 

of  each  atelier  bore  the  hall-mark  of  the  master.  Thus  a  high 
degree  of  efficiency  was  obtained  and  contributed  to  the 
prosperity  of  the  factory.  The  best  among  the  decorators 
built  houses  of  their  own,  the  freehold  being  readily  granted 
by  Count  Schaffgotsch,  the  ground  landlord.  They  became 
prosperous  and  able  to  send  their  sons  to  the  technical  high 
schools,  some  even  to  the  University.  Two  distinguished  pro- 
fessors of  the  University  ofBreslau — one  of  medicine,  the  other 
of  geography — were  sons  of  a  friend  of  mine  who  had  begim 
life  as  a  decorator  at  the  Josephinenhiitte,  had  ultimately 
become  manager,  and  was  able  by  a  life  of  self-denial  to  save 
enough  money  to  provide  a  first-class  education  for  his  children. 
I  used  to  visit  these  ateliers,  distributed  through  the  village 
miles  in  extent,  where  the  snow  lies  on  the  ground  for  four 
or  five  months  of  the  year.  I  do  not  remember  calling  at 
one  single  workman's  dwelling  during  all  the  years  of  my 
connection  with  those  parts  in  which  the  conditions  of  order 
and  cleanliness  were  not  as  complete  as  they  were  in  the 
hospitable  mansion  of  the  director  of  the  works  in  which  I 
was  guest.  Staying  there  for  weeks  at  a  time  I  took  part  in 
the  social  life  of  the  workmen,  whether  glass-blowers,  decora-, 
tors,  or  counting-house  officials,  and  I  still  reckon  those  days 
among  the  happiest  of  my  life.  There  were  rifle  meetings  in  the 
spring  and  autumn,  a  gymnastic  society,  a  fire  brigade,  and 
pedestrian  tours  over  the  mountains  in  the  summer.  Concerts 
were  given  all  the  year  round,  since  many  of  the  working 
men,  as  aforesaid,  were  proficient  musicians  on  more  than  one 
instrument.  In  the  winter  there  were  amateur  theatricals, 
dances,  and  popular  lectures  on  scientific  subjects,  in  all  of 
which  the  director  and  his  family  and  those  of  other  manufac- 
turers in  the  neighbourhood  took  part  with  the  workmen,  and 
nowhere  have  I  ever  met  with  greater  decorum  and  courtesy 
than  here.  Only  one  instance  of  female  drunkenness  came  to 
my  knowledge  in  the  course  of  all  the  years  that  I  visited 
these  parts,  and  this  was  a  case  of  a  poor  creature,  the 
prettiest  girl  of  the  village,  who  became  a  divorced  outcast, 
habitual  drunkenness  furnishing  a  plea  for  divorce  in  Germany. 
68 


THE    GLASS    WORKS 

The  high  standard  of  education  among  the  employes  made 
the  best  of  them  fit  company  for  people  in  any  sphere  of  life, 
the  more  so  as  it  was  often  joined  to  a  rare  amount  of  tact 
and  balance  of  character.  The  offensive  idiosyncrasies  of  the 
modern  parvenu  element  in  Germany,  even  in  high  circles, 
were  unknown  in  my  time  in  those  hills.  A  sister  of  a  friend 
of  mine,  a  Silesian  countess,  married  a  sculptor  who  came  of  a 
family  of  Bavarian  peasants.  She  told  me  that  the  relations 
of  her  sister's  husband,  whom  she  had  visited  in  their  village, 
were  in  their  way  as  much  "  aristocrats  "  as  any  of  the  nobility. 
This  testimony  could  well  have  found  its  application  to  the 
best  of  those  with  whom  I  came  into  contact  in  these  Silesian 
hills. 

One  of  the  most  remarkable  instances  of  cultivation  of  mind 
combined  with  steadiness  of  character  I  have  ever  met  with 
in  a  humble  sphere  of  life  was  that  of  a  man  at  this  glass 
factory.  His  weekly  wages  never  exceeded  fifteen  shillings, 
yet  such  were  the  possibilities  of  a  well-behaved  factory  hand 
under  the  conditions  then  prevailing  that,  in  common  with 
many  of  his  fellow  workmen,  he  lived  in  his  own  cottage  in 
the  shade  of  a  beautiful  pine  forest.  Not  very  far  from  his 
abode  was  another  cottage  on  the  crest  of  a  hill  with  a 
glorious  view  of  the  valley  below  and  the  range  of  mountains 
beyond.  It  had  belonged  to  an  old  packer  of  the  factory, 
who  ultimately  sold  it  to  a  Herr  von  Ende,  a  chamberlain 
of  the  Emperor  William  I.,  who  lived  there  for  many  years 
in  the  summer  months  with  his  wife  and  family. 

Not  being  robust  enough  for  glass-blowing,  his  original 
occupation,  my  fi-iend  had  become  a  jack-of-all-trades.  He 
kept  the  chemicals  used  at  the  factory,  and  assisted  the 
director  of  the  works  in  the  cultivation  of  his  hobbies,  among 
which  were  pheasant-rearing  and  artificial  trout-breeding. 
From  50,000  to  100,000  trout  were  annually  hatched  and 
turned  into  the  mountain  stream  facing  his  office.  His 
employer  had  given  him  some  pheasants,  among  which  were 
so-called  silver  and  gold  pheasants,  the  rare  Japanese  variety 
known  as  the  "  Lady  Amherst,"  and  from  these  specimens  he  had 

69 


GERMAN    MEMORIES 

bred   a   number  of  birds,   which   were    to   be   seen  disporting 
themselves  in  a  wire  network  (volicre)  near  his  cottage. 

When  about  to  marry  he  chose  the  one  of  two  sisters 
whom,  as  he  told  me,  he  had  observed  to  be  the  more 
dexterous  in  milking  the  cows,  although,  independently  of  this 
useful  accomplishment,  he  might  have  preferred  the  other. 
Among  his  household  goods  was  a  dressing-gown,  which  he  had 
bought  with  the  money  saved  by  going  without  sugar  in  his 
coffee  for  a  considerable  time.  He  was  a  great  reader,  having 
mastered  a  number  of  scientific  subjects  by  subscribing  for 
various  text-books.  He  had  saved  money,  which  was  in  the 
bank,  and  had  a  plentiful  supply  in  his  pocket,  for  when  now 
and  then  I  made  an  excursion  in  the  mountains  for  days 
together  and  took  him  with  me,  I  noticed  that  he  carried 
several  gold  ducats  in  a  leather  pouch  in  case  I  should  run 
short  of  cash. 

I  made  sleigh  trips  with  him  before  bob-sleighing,  as  a 
sport,  was  thought  of,  either  in  Switzerland  or  Germany. 
We  started  in  the  evening,  plodding  through  the  snow  up  the 
mountains  until  we  reached  one  of  the  so-called  "  Bandcn,''''  or 
chalets,  the  "  Schlesische^''  or  *'  Peter  Baude^''  which  were  more 
than  four  thousand  feet  above  sea  level.  There  we  took  our 
supper,  passed  the  night,  and  at  dawn  came  down  on  our 
sleighs  at  a  neck-breaking  pace  ;  sometimes  making  the  distance 
it  had  taken  us  nearly  two  hours  to  climb  the  previous  evening 
in  from  eight  to  ten  minutes. 

In  the  course  of  years  we  became  great  friends.  I  once 
took  him  a  Scotch  shawl,  as  a  present  from  England,  which  he 
used  to  strap  to  his  sleigh  on  our  expeditions.  We  both 
slept  in  the  same  rough  shed  above  the  stable  and  the  smell 
of  the  cows.  He  would  wait  until  I  had  got  into  bed  and 
then,  without  saying  a  word,  come  on  tiptoe  to  my  bed- 
side and  place  his  shawl  over  me.  Among  his  duties  were  those 
of  getting  the  money  every  Friday  from  the  bank  to  pay  the 
six  hundred  workmen  at  the  factory,  which  meant  a  lonely  drive 
to  the  next  town,  nearly  eighteen  miles  away,  armed  with  a 
revolver  ;  no  unnecessary  precaution  in  those  wild  parts. 
70 


THE    GLASS    WORKS 

Such  high  consideration  did  this  workman  enjoy  at  the 
hands  of  the  director  of  the  factory  that  he  made  him  his 
executor — a  post  he  was  well  able  to  fill,  since  a  knowledge  of 
law,  at  least  in  its  practical  aspects,  was  one  of  the  many 
accomplishments  of  this  remarkable  man.  It  would  not  have 
been  Germany  if  envy  had  not  attacked  one  who  conspicuously 
enjoyed  and  retained  the  favour  of  his  employer,  who  used  to 
sit  with  him  on  summer  evenings  in  the  garden  of  his  villa 
and  discuss  the  events  of  the  day  over  a  glass  of  port.  Thus 
he  was  dubbed  Der  Herr  Geheimrath  (the  Privy  Councillor). 

For  many  years  the  position  of  the  director  of  the 
Josephinenhiitte  was  one  of  autocratic  authority,  and  as  a 
dispenser  of  generous  hospitality  he  was  treated  with  great 
social  consideration.  He  was  one  of  the  most  influential  men 
in  the  county,  a  member  of  its  council,  and  a  magistrate 
with  authority  to  solemnise  civil  marriages.  His  end,  alas  ! 
was  sudden  and  tragic.  Its  echoes  reverberated  throughout 
the  whole  Hirschberg  valley  many  miles  away.  The  pro- 
cession that  followed  him  to  the  grave  was  nearly  a  mile  long. 
There  I  saw  a  spectacle  such  as  I  have  never  seen  in  my  native 
country  :  the  Protestant  clergyman  standing  side  by  side  with 
the  Roman  Catholic  priest,  united  in  human  brotherhood,  as 
the  latter  read  the  burial  service. 

A  railway  has  since  connected  these  parts  with  the  outer 
world.  The  beautiful  pine-clad  hills  of  Schreiberhau  have 
become  a  favourite  resort,  in  summer  and  winter,  of  the 
wealthy  from  Berlin  ajid  Breslau,  who  have  built  luxurious 
villas  on  its  bracing  heights.  The  poet  Gerhardt  Hauptmann 
has  made  his  home  there.  Tourists  throng  the  picturesque 
hotels  and  private  houses  belonging  to  the  workmen,  who 
draw  a  rich  harvest  from  the  visitors.  Whether  any  of  them 
ever  think  with  regret  of  the  simplicity  of  bygone  days  I 
cannot  say,  for  twenty-five  years  have  flown  since  I  was  there. 


71 


CHAPTER    VI 

THE   SILESIAN   NOBILITY 

My  frequent  visits  to  the  Josephinenhlitte  brought  me  into 
personal  contact  with  the  proprietor  of  the  works,  the  late 
Count  Ludwig  Schaffgotsch,  one  of  the  largest  landowners  of 
the  province  ;  for  a  big  section  of  the  Giant  Mountain  range 
on  the  Prussian  side  belonged  to  him.  Through  the  Count  I 
became  acquainted  with  his  landowning  relatives,  and  through 
other  sources  in  the  course  of  years  with  many  families  of  the 
Silesian  aristocracy,  from  all  of  whom  I  have  invariably  received 
much  kindness  in  the  form  of  invitations  to  country  houses  and 
shooting  parties. 

Count  Schaffgotsch  himself  was  no  sportsman,  and  if  his 
friends  were  inclined  for  sport  they  went  out  attended  by  one 
or  two  of  his  foresters,  of  whom  he  kept  over  sixty.  Game- 
keepers, in  the  English  sense,  are  comparatively  rare  in  those 
parts  of  Germany  ;  the  forest  and  forest  culture  being  the 
principal  aim  in  view,  not  the  preservation  of  game  for  purposes 
of  sport. 

Scientific  forest  culture  is  scarcely  one  hundred  and  fifty  years 
old,  and  the  Germans  are  in  this,  as  in  other  branches  of 
economic  development,  more  improvers  than  originators,  since 
the  French  were  the  first  to  cultivate  forest  land  on  a  scientific 
system.  To-day  the  Forest  Academy  of  Tharandt  is  the  first 
in  the  world,  and  forestry  supplies  one  of  the  most  important 
features  of  German  national  economy,  as  nearly  one-quarter 
of  the  land  is  covered  by  forests.  The  German  forester,  or 
forest  guardian,  is  a  very  different  type  of  person  from  the 
English  gamekeeper,  whom  we  are  expected  to  "  tip "  when 
invited  to  English  country-houses.  The  higher  grades  among 
72 


THE    SILESIAN    NOBILITY 

them  have  had  a  scientific  training,  an  imperative  necessity 
where  the  interests  they  have  to  look  after  are  next  to  agricul- 
ture itself  in  importance  :  the  State  is  the  largest  forest  owner 
in  Germany,  and  in  this  particular  already  practises  State 
Socialism  on  a  stupendous  scale  ;  for  all  its  forests  are 
managed  for  the  benefit  of  the  country  at  large,  and  the  revenue 
drawn  therefrom  is  expended  in  the  same  way  as  any  other 
source  of  revenue.  Forest  culture  is  at  the  same  time  a  means 
of  rearing  one  of  the  hardiest  and  most  useful  elements  of  the 
population.  It  is  impossible  to  have  lived  in  rural  Germany 
without  encountering  on  forest  pathways  or  country  roads,  or 
at  village  inns,  those  fair-haired,  spick-and-span,  grey-uniformed 
apparitions,  with  a  gun  slung  across  their  shoulder  and  a  dog 
following  at  their  heels,  who  form  the  representative  type  of 
forester.  There  must  be  several  hundred  thousand  fully  trained 
foresters  in  the  German  Empire,  and  they  form  the  main 
contingent  of  the  sharp-shooters  of  the  German  army,  accus- 
tomed as  they  are,  like  no  others,  to  the  use  of  the  rifle  all  their 
life.  But  even  in  peace  they  are  still  at  war :  a  scientific  war, 
carried  on  unremittingly  against  the  natural  enemies  of  those 
they  are  called  to  look  after,  and  whom  they  cherish  as  only  a 
German  lover  of  nature  can  cherish — his  trees !  Between  the 
years  1772—87  three  million  pine-trees  were  destroyed  by 
the  Borkenkdfer  {Scolytidoe)  in  the  Hartz  Mountains  alone,  and 
in  the  years  1857—62  the  same  insects  ravaged  170,000  acres 
of  forest  land  in  East  Prussia.  Here  it  is  that  the  German 
forester  with  his  scientific  training  has  worked  wonders  in  the 
cause  of  economic  progress.  So  thorough  has  been  his  activity 
that  the  observant  stranger  in  his  wanderings  on  the  mountain- 
side meets  his  handiwork  everywhere.  Not  until  you  reach 
those  high  regions  in  which  trees  can  no  longer  be  cultivated 
is  there  a  spot  to  be  seen  in  which  his  handiwork  is  not 
visible  in  the  rows  of  saplings  in  different  stages  of  growth. 
Everywhere  the  word  Schonung  ("  Care  for  the  young 
plantation "")  is  inscribed  on  boards,  even  in  the  most  out-of- 
the-way  places.  Nowhere  have  I  ever  seen  a  fence,  much  less 
those    hateful    notices    declaring    that    "  Trespassers    will    be 

73 


GERMAN    MEMORIES 

prosecuted,"  since  the  land  is  free  to  everybody  to  roam  over, 
even  though  stocked  with  game  ;  nobody,  unless  a  poacher,  is 
expected  to  disturb  it. 

So  universally  is  this  cultivation  of  forest  land  carried  out 
that  I  can  safely  say  I  have  often  seen  more  waste  land  when 
looking  out  of  a  railway  carriage  window  in  one  London 
suburb  than  in  all  my  roamings  through  the  Giant  Mountains 
of  Prussian  Silesia  in  twenty  years.  Bearing  this  beneficent 
activity  of  the  forester  class  in  mind,  it  is  only  natural  to  find 
that  they  are  a  highly  respected  class  of  the  community. 
Bismarck  was  fond  of  associating  with  his  foresters,  and  I  have 
met  them  as  guests  at  his  dinner-table.  Here  the  great 
German  landowners,  by  seconding  the  efforts  of  the  State  to 
preserve  the  beautiful  forests  they  possess,  have  done  yeoman's 
service  in  the  best  interests  of  their  country. 

It  was  deemed  a  great  privilege  to  be  allowed  to  shoot  a 
stag,  and  above  all  a  capercailzie,  on  the  Schaffgotsch  estate. 
Dukes  and  princes  would  come  from  afar,  in  the  spring  for  the 
capercailzie,  and  in  the  autumn  for  the  rutting  red  deer,  with 
a  special  permit  to  be  allowed  to  shoot  one  deer  or  one 
capercailzie,  as  the  case  might  be  ;  but  usually  only  one. 
Some  of  these  sportsmen  came  rigged  out  in  the  fancy  costume 
of  a  Salontyroler  (a  drawing-room  Tyrolese),  after  a  well- 
known  picture  by  Defregger ;  they  excited  our  mirth  at  the 
works,  accustomed  as  most  of  us  Avere  to  game-shooting  and 
inured  to  the  hardships  connected  with  it  in  those  mountains. 
TTiis  class  of  sportsman  was  also  disliked  because  of  his  habit 
of  shooting  everything  that  came  before  his  gun,  whether 
antlered  stag  or  female  deer.  He  was  accordingly  dubbed  an 
Aasjdger,  or  carrion  hunter. 

One  day  Count  SchafFgotsch  said  to  me :  "  How  is  it  that  you 
never  go  out  deer-stalking  when  you  are  here  ? ""  "  Well,  Herr 
Graf,''  I  replied,  "  I  should  have  to  apply  for  your  permission 
each  time,  and  I  do  not  like  to  trouble  you."  "  I  quite  under- 
stand," he  rejoined,  "  and  I  should  feel  exactly  the  same  were 
I  in  your  place  ;  but  in  order  that  you  may  have  no  more 
scruples  on  this  score,  I  herewith  give  you  permission  once  and 
74 


THE    SILESIAN    NOBILITY 

for  all  to  shoot  over  my  land  when  and  wherever  you  please." 
And  he  held  out  his  hand  to  me  in  German  fashion  to  clasp  it 
and  so  complete  the  compact.  As  it  happened,  I  was  never 
able  to  avail  myself  of  his  kindness,  for  circumstances  shortly 
after  put  an  end  to  my  visits  in  those  parts,  and  the  Count 
died  a  few  years  later.      But  I  have  anticipated. 

These  associations  brought  me  into  touch  with  two  distinct 
social  strata,  the  one  an  aristocratic  caste,  the  other  a  new 
social  stratum  with  all  its  possibilities  and  ambitions.  The 
Landjunker  looked  askance  at  the  manufacturer  as  a  trader 
who  "sells"  something,  whereas  the  Landjunker  is  himself  little 
more  than  a  trader,  and  as  such  one  of  a  rather  primitive 
order.  The  landowner  deals  in  cereals  and  live  stock,  pigs  and 
geese,  and,  least  beneficial  of  all,  in  a  deleterious  form  of 
alcohol.  Even  when  a  sportsman  he  is  often  still  a  trader,  for 
with  the  keen  sense  for  economy  which  characterises  his  class, 
as  a  rule  he  sells  the  game  that  is  shot,  and  sells  it  cheaply. 
I  have  known  hundreds  of  partridges  sold  at  6d.  apiece,  and 
hundreds  of  hares  carted  off  in  the  next  goods  train  for  the 
Berlin  market. 

Another  point  where  the  landowner  does  not  show  to 
advantage  in  comparison  with  the  prosperous  manufacturer  is 
the  lower  rate  of  wages  he  pays  to  his  labourers,  rarely  rising 
above  furnishing  the  bare  means  of  existence.  A  high-class 
manufactory,  on  the  other  hand,  produces  new  and  valuable 
commodities,  employs  a  number  of  highly  intelligent  hands, 
increases  thereby  the  wealth  of  the  community,  and  in  so  doing 
may  bring  prosperity  to  a  whole  district.  This  comparison 
does  not  hold  good  in  the  exceptional  cases  of  great  territorial 
magnates,  such  as  Prince  Henckel  of  Donnersmarck,  who 
occupy  a  position  of  great  social  power  and  often  derive  a  large 
portion  of  their  income  from  industrial  enterprise.  Prince 
Henckel  von  Donnersmarck  is  an  ironmaster  and  a  mine- 
owner.  Count  Schaffgotsch  was  said  to  draw  more  revenue 
from  his  glass  factory  and  the  rise  of  value  on  his  property 
which  was  indirectly  due  to  the  factory  than  from  all  his 
territorial  domains,  the  upkeep  of  which,  with  his  large  staff 

75 


GERMAN    MEMORIES 

of  foresters  and  other  officials,  nearly  swallowed  up  the  gross 
income  of  his  estates.  The  social  consideration  which  the 
landed  gentry  enjoy  is,  as  far  as  my  experience  goes,  not,  as  in 
England,  a  voluntary  tribute  of  respect  and  veneration  for  the 
"  classes,"  and  is  certainly  scarcely  justified  on  the  score  of 
superior  culture  of  heart,  mind,  or  morals,  for  which  the  out- 
ward polish  due  to  the  connection  with  the  Court  and  the 
army  is  not  an  adequate  substitute.  Thus  the  {)rcsent 
tendency  of  the  rich-grown  German  industrials  to  think  little 
of  their  own  status  and  to  try  to  obtain  patents  of  nobility 
and  force  themselves  into  the  society  of  the  nobility  can  only 
be  described  as  one  of  the  many  pernicious  forms  of  reaction 
rampant  of  late,  which  also  tend  to  weaken  the  middle 
classes  in  their  fight  with  Collective  Socialism.  This  was  not 
so  in  my  time,  when  the  elite  of  the  German  middle  classes 
were  staunchly  Liberal  and  far  more  conscious  of  the  dignity 
of  their  position  than  they  seem  to  be  to-day.  They  possessed 
a  pride  of  their  own,  a  consciousness  of  their  own  value,  and 
had  no  desire  to  mix  socially  with  the  nobility.  A  hundred 
years  ago  a  club  existed  in  Weimar  to  which  members  of 
the  nobility  were  not  even  eligible. 

The  landed  aristocracy  as  I  knew  them  were  a  hard-living 
race,  brought  up  under  conditions  in  harmony  with  the  severity 
of  the  climate.  Trained  for  the  army,  the  administrative 
career,  or  farming  their  own  estates,  the  wealthiest  among 
them  were  small  autocrats,  and  as  such  were  cut  off  from  the 
life  of  the  people,  with  whom  they  hardly  came  into  contact, 
and  by  whom — in  marked  contrast  to  the  English  nobility — 
they  were,  with  few  exceptions,  regarded  without  much 
sympathy.  They  were  also  out  of  touch  with  the  intellectual 
currents  of  their  time,  and  decidedly  inferior  in  intellectual 
tastes  and  accomplishments  to  the  educated  classes  of  such 
cities  as  Breslau,  Sec. 

They  lived  all  the  year  round  on  their  estates,  with 
occasional  journeys  to  Berlin  or  Breslau  in  the  winter. 
Otherwise  their  life  was  a  somewhat  monotonous  one,  exchang- 
ing visits  among  their  own  class,  varied  by  game-shooting, 
76 


THE    SILESIAN    NOBILITY 

card-playing,  and,  on  special  occasions,  by  abundant  feasting. 
The  pi-ide  of  birth  which  has  since  given  way  before  the 
alluring  attraction  of  money,  particularly  in  the  large  towns, 
was  in  my  time  very  prominent  in  this  class.  The  daughter  of 
a  noble  family  would  not  have  dreamt  of  marrying  out  of  her 
sphere.  For  all  that,  the  ladies  scrupulously  attended  to  the 
household  duties  together  with  the  humblest  of  their  menials, 
and  would  think  nothing  of  getting  up  at  four  o'clock  to 
prepare  breakfast  for  their  father's  guests  before  they  went 
shooting ;  but  they  would  have  hesitated  to  accept  such  men, 
even  if  wealthy,  as  life  partners  unless,  like  themselves,  they 
belonged  to  the  nobility. 

There  was  something  barbaric,  almost  Russian,  about  these 
people,  without  the  prodigality  which  marks  the  wealthy 
Russian  noble.  They  were  argumentative,  truculent,  and 
quarrelsome,  with  the  code  of  honour  of  the  army  paramount 
among  them,  and  ready  to  put  it  into  practice  at  the  slightest 
provocation.  I  have  known  a  Count  challenge  his  own 
father-in-law  to  a  duel  because,  at  a  game  of  billiards,  the 
latter  hesitated  to  accept  his  statement  that  he  had  made  a 
cannon.  You  could  never  be  sure  that  a  game  of  cards  in 
such  company  might  not  on  the  least  pretext  lead  to  differ- 
ences and  a  challenge  to  mortal  combat.  The  "  eternal 
feminine,"  with  a  large  element  of  intrigue,  was  also  a  fertile 
source  of  "  difficulties  "  and  family  scandals.  A  friend  of  mine 
was  obliged  to  fight  a  duel  with  an  officer  who  ran  away  with 
his  daughter.  Some  of  these  occurrences  brought  tragedy  to 
whole  families.  The  following  case,  however,  in  its  results  at 
least,  stands  out  in  my  memory  as  one  with  a  comparatively 
happy  ending. 

Baron  von  Falkenhausen,  of  the  Breslau  Cuirassiers,  a  friend 
of  the  Schaffgotsch  family,  related  to  me  an  experience  of  his 
own  which  illustrates  the  possibilities  of  social  life  in  Germany 
thirty  years  ago,  and  perhaps  to-day.  Taking  the  waters 
at  Aachen,  he  was  sitting  one  afternoon  in  front  of  the 
Kursaal,  talking  to  some  ladies,  when  a  well-dressed  man, 
approaching  the  group,  turned  to  him  and  said  he  thought  it 

77 


GERMAN    MEMORIES 

very  bad  manners  on  his  part  to  smoke  in  the  company  of 
ladies.  Baron  von  Falkenhausen  was  taken  somewhat  aback  by 
the  unprovoked  remark  of  a  perfect  stranger,  but  (juickly 
recovering  himself,  he  presented  his  card  to  the  aggressor  and 
received  the  other's  in  return.  Baron  von  Falkenhausen 
immediately  sent  him  a  challenge,  and  received  the  curious 
reply  that  his  opponent  was  "  too  busy  with  previous  engage- 
ments ■"  to  give  his  attention  to  him  at  present ;  he  hoped, 
however,  to  arrange  matters  between  them  as  soon  as  he  was 
at  liberty.  After  the  lapse  of  several  days  the  Baron  again 
sent  his  seconds  with  a  message  that  he  was  about  to  leave 
Aachen,  and  must  insist  on  his  challenge  being  accepted 
or  refused.  An  answer  came  that  the  stranger  was  still 
prevented  from  attending  to  his  request ;  but  if  Herr  von 
Falkenhausen  would  kindly  leave  his  address,  he  would  hear 
from  him  in  due  course.  Baron  von  Falkenhausen  returned 
to  Breslau,  and,  as  some  time  had  elapsed,  thought  the  matter 
had  ended.  Upon  this  he  rather  congratulated  himself,  as  he 
had  heard  in  the  meantime  that  his  aggressor,  hailing  from 
the  neighbourhood  of  Koenigsberg,  was  a  notorious  gambler 
and  duellist,  and  that  he  was  altogether  a  kind  of  man  to 
whom  a  gentleman  might  rightly  decline  to  "  give  satisfac- 
tion." One  fine  day,  however,  the  stranger  appeared  at 
Breslau,  ready  for  the  fray !  Herr  von  Falkenhausen^'s  first 
impulse  was  to  decline  to  have  anything  to  do  with  him,  but 
this  proved  to  be  impracticable,  as  the  Koenigsberg  man  had 
provided  himself  with  a  friend  of  unblemished  character,  who 
fulfilled  the  conditions  required  by  the  queer  code  of  honour 
prevailing  in  those  parts,  where  the  respectability  of  a 
duellist  was  called  in  question,  and  who  stood  bail  for  his 
character.  The  duel  accordingly  took  place,  and  Herr  von 
Falkenhausen  shot  his  adversary  dead,  more  by  a  "  fluke,""  as 
he  himself  told  me,  than  anything  else.  It  turned  out  that 
the  cause  of  the  delay  in  giving  satisfaction  was  a  previous 
wrangle  with  a  Russian  which  was  still  pending,  and  which  the 
latter  settled  by  causing  his  servants  to  give  his  antagonist  a 
sound  thrashing.  Herr  von  Falkenhausen  told  me  that  he 
78 


THE    SI  LE  SI  AN    NOBILITY 

subsequently  received  a  letter  from  this  man's  wife,  or  mistress, 
thanking  him  for  having  rid  her  and  the  world  at  large  of  such 
a  monster ! 

It  would,  however,  be  a  mistake  to  think  that  the  military 
element  is  always  the  aggressive  one,  or  that  the  officer  always 
comes  off  best.  There  are  cases  in  which  officers  are  the 
victims  of  unprovoked  insult  on  the  part  of  civilians  labouring 
under  the  influence  of  festive  conditions.  Notably  is  this  so 
with  doctors  and  lawyers  who  have  been  corps  students,  and  are 
ready  to  "give  satisfaction"  on  the  slightest  provocation.  I 
have  known  an  instance  in  which  an  officer,  the  father  of  a 
family,  was  obliged  to  fight  a  student,  and  had  no  other 
alternative  but  in  self-defence  to  shoot  his  opponent.  One  of 
the  most  remarkable  cases  on  record,  in  which  a  civilian  was 
the  challenger  and  also  the  victor  over  a  military  antagonist, 
occurred  many  years  ago  in  a  German  garrison  town.  The 
story  was  related  to  me  long  afterwards  by  the  survivor. 
When  a  young  man  he  was  courting  the  lady  whom  he 
afterwards  married  when,  at  a  ball  at  the  Casino,  he  got  into 
an  altercation  with  an  officer  whom  he  may  have  deemed  too 
attentive  to  her.  The  officer  was  reputed  to  be  the  best  shot 
of  the  garrison,  while  his  opponent  had  never  held  a  pistol 
in  his  hand ;  in  fact,  in  the  few  hours  which  elapsed  between 
the  fracas  and  the  duel  the  rumour  spread  that  the  civilian 
had  backed  out  of  it.  Hearing  this,  he  caused  a  notice  to  be 
posted  in  the  hall  of  the  Casino  stating  that  not  only  did  he 
intend  to  "  give  satisfaction  "  to  his  opponent,  but  was  also 
ready  to  fight  any  one  else  who  presumed  to  doubt  his 
courage.  When  the  encounter  took  place  the  officer  fired  first, 
and  hit  his  antagonist  in  the  groin.  In  falling  the  latter 
discharged  his  pistol,  and,  as  fate  would  have  it,  mortally 
wounded  the  officer.  This  duel  caused  great  popular 
excitement  at  the  time,  and  nearly  led  to  a  riot  between  the 
military  and  the  civilians  in  the  town. 

There  is  a  considerable  section  of  the  Silesian  nobility 
which  takes  life  more  seriously  than  the  sporting  and 
duelling     fraternity,     and     is     consequently    more     in     touch 

79 


GERMAN    MEMORIES 

witli  the  spirit  of  the  age.  It  is  not  without  interest  to  note 
that  whereas  these  families  are  mainly  Protestants,  the  majority 
of  those  I  have  hitherto  referred  to  are  Roman  Catholics. 
They  are  mostly  the  least  wealthy  of  their  class,  and  farm 
their  own  estates  on  scientific  principles,  in  which  occupation 
they  develop  a  high  degree  of  efficiency.  The  head  of  the 
family  is  usually  assisted  by  a  so-called  inspector,  who  has 
studied  agricultural  science  at  one  of  the  many  technical  high 
schools,  and  has  thus  had  the  benefit  of  an  excellent  all-round 
education.  He  takes  his  meals  with  the  family,  and,  though 
often  of  humble  birth,  in  many  cases  becomes  the  trusted  friend 
and  adviser  of  the  family.  I  have  met  several  such  inspectors 
when  on  shooting  excursions,  and  it  was  a  revelation  to  me  to 
note  the  wide  cosmopolitan  extent  of  their  scientific  knowledge 
as  applied  to  the  farming  of  land  and  the  raising  of  stock. 

Landowners  of  this  class  have  often  had  a  legal  training 
which  fits  them  for  an  administrative  career ;  they  also  take 
a  keen  interest  in  politics.  Some  of  these  families  have  pro- 
duced eminent  men  in  the  parliamentary  and  administrative 
annals  of  Prussia.  A  prominent  instance  of  such  a  family 
is  that  of  the  Counts  Bethusy-Huc,  one  of  whom  was  a  dis- 
tinguished parliamentarian  in  Bismarck"*s  time.  The  Bethusy- 
Hucs  are  one  of  those  rather  numerous  families  distributed 
throughout  Prussia  whose  names  proclaim  their  French 
ancestry.  Many  of  them  still  carry  traces  of  their  origin  in 
their  Romanic  cast  of  features,  which  mark  them  off  distinctly 
from  the  half-Teuton,  half-Slavonic  type  of  the  Prussian 
nobility,  of  which  the  Bismarck  family  is  one  of  the  most 
striking  instances  which  occur  to  me.  The  Bethusy-Hucs 
originally  came  from  Languedoc,  and  Count  Eugene  Bethusy- 
Huc  might  well  be  mistaken  for  a  swarthy  Frenchman.  His 
wife,  Countess  Valesca  Bethusy-Huc,  whose  literary  pseudonym  is 
"  Moritz  von  Reichenbach,'"'  is  well  known  throughout  Germany 
as  the  authoress  of  numerous  tales  of  fashionable  and  rural 
life.  She  was  connected  by  marriage  with  the  family  of  Herr 
von  Moser,  and  this  is  how  our  acquaintance  and  subsequent 
friendship  came  about,  which,  I  am  glad  to  say,  has  lasted 
80 


THE    SILESIAN    NOBILITY 

uninterruptedly  down  to  the  present  day.  I  have  repeatedly 
been  their  guest  at  their  country-seat  at  Deschowitz,  not  far 
from  Myslowitz,  the  so-called  Drei-Kaiserecke,  where  the 
dominions  of  the  German,  the  Austrian,  and  Russian  Empires 
meet.  It  may  not  be  generally  known  what  an  exposed  point 
of  the  German  Empire  this  part  of  the  world  forms.  The 
German  frontier  as  against  Russia  is  for  many  miles  for 
all  practical  purposes  absolutely  defenceless.  What  would 
our  periodical  alarmists  say  if  we  were  exposed  to  a  similar 
state  of  things  ? 

When  I  was  there  first,  in  1887,  almost  as  many  Russian 
cavalry  were  said  to  have  been  concentrated  in  neighbouring 
Poland  as  is  possessed  by  Germany  and  Austria  together. 
The  relations  between  Russia  and  Germany  had  been  strained, 
and  the  possibilities  of  Russian  invasion  were  such  that  the 
money-safes  of  the  great  Silesian  ironmasters  were  kept  in  readi- 
ness to  be  lifted  on  to  the  railway  trucks  and  taken  inland  at 
the  first  rumour  of  danger.  For  in  military  circles  it  was  held 
to  be  inevitable  in  the  event  of  a  Russian  attack  to  have  to 
retire  on  Breslau  and  let  the  Russians  lay  the  intervening 
country  waste  ;  and  during  the  "  eighties  "  there  were  moments 
in  which  such  an  eventuality  had  to  be  taken  into  serious 
consideration. 

During  my  stay  at  Deschowitz,  Countess  Bethusy-Huc  sug- 
gested that  I  should  avail  myself  of  the  opportunity  of  being 
in  such  close  proximity  to  Russian  Poland  to  have  a  "  look 
at  the  other  side,"  and  see  Asiatic  conditions  in  Europe,  The 
Countess  was  on  friendly  terms  with  Herr  von  Hamilton,  the 
Prussian  frontier  Commissioner  (Grenz- Commissar)  at  Beuthen, 
and  it  was  arranged  that  I  should  take  a  day's  trip  in  his 
company  over  the  frontier.  The  Prussian  Government  main- 
tains a  number  of  these  semi-diplomatic  and  secret- service 
officials,  stationed  at  intervals  right  along  the  Russo-Prussian 
boundary,  who  are  selected  from  retired  officers  of  the  rank  of 
captain  or  major  and  must  be  conversant  with  the  Russian 
language.  Their  duties  are  to  keep  in  touch  with  the 
Russian  authorities,  to  report  to  the  Government  on  general 

F  81 


GERMAN    MEMORIES 

happenings,  and  in  case  of  difficulties  to  smooth  matters  over 
by  personal  negotiations ;  for  queer  things  take  place  in  those 
parts.  Smuggling  and  spying  are  carried  on  very  extensively, 
and  the  temper  of  the  Russians  occasionally  leads  to  such 
arbitrary  proceedings  as  promiscuous  firing  across  the  frontier 
at  suspected  persons,  and  imprisoning  German  subjects  without 
trial,  regardless  of  their  status :  details  of  these  occurrences  are 
rarely  allowed  to  leak  out  in  the  German  Press.  The  Prussian 
authorities  invariably  show  a  great  deal  of  goodwill,  even  of 
forbearance,  in  their  dealings  with  the  truculent  Russians, 
who,  I  was  told,  rarely  respond  in  a  kindred  spirit.  It  will 
thus  be  readily  understood  that  men  of  tact  and  experience, 
in  addition  to  a  robust  constitution,  are  needed  for  so  difficult 
a  post.  One  of  the  indispensable  qualifications  required 
is  a  capacity  for  imbibing  any  quantity  of  alcoholic  liquid, 
some  of  the  frontier  "  difficulties  "  being  adjusted  over  copious 
libations. 

Now  and  then  the  officers  of  the  respective  frontier 
regiments  exchange  friendly  visits,  when  drinking  bouts  are 
indulged  in,  and  it  becomes  a  question  which  side  can  hold 
out  longest  in  the  struggle  regarding  which  Cassio  laments  : 
"  O  God,  that  men  should  put  an  enemy  in  their  mouths  to 
steal  away  their  brains  !  "  According  to  my  informant,  the 
Russians  are  usually  victorious  in  these  encounters,  leaving  the 
weaker  competitors  prostrate  on  the  field. 

I  arrived  in  Beuthen  ^  early  in  the  morning,  called  on  Herr 
von  Hamilton,  and,  after  obtaining  a  passport  through  his 
intervention,  we  started  on  our  journey — three  of  us — in  a 
tumbledown  conveyance.  The  Polish  frontier  is  less  than 
three  English  miles  from  Beuthen,  and  we  had  not  driven  far 
beyond  it  when  we  sighted  a  Cossack  on  horseback  at  the  top 
of  a  hill.  There  was  something  thrilling  in  this  meeting  with 
the  first  representative  of  Russian  authority  in  Europe.  The 
thought  that  these  same  mounted  horsemen  are  spread  over 

1  Owing  to  the  growth  in  the  coal  and  iron  industries,  there  has  been  a  great 
increase  in  the  population  in  Upper  Silesia.  Thus  Beuthen,  which  only  had 
2000  inhabitants  in  1820,  has  now  50,000. 

82 


THE    SILESIAN    NOBILITY 

one-eighth  of  the  inhabited  globe,  uninterruptedly  in  evidence 
right  across  Asia  to  the  Arctic  and  Pacific  Oceans  and  up  to 
the  walls  of  China,  appealed  to  the  imagination.  In  com- 
parison with  the  condition  of  things  in  Prussia,  even  in  its 
most  eastern  parts,  the  roads  and  villages,  and  the  dress  of 
the  inhabitants,  presented  a  marked  contrast  to  the  eye  as 
relics  of  a  barbaric  age. 

On  our  arrival  at  the  old  town  of  Bendzin,  once  a  famous 
Polish  city,  a  man  in  the  street  came  towards  us  and,  as  we 
alighted,  fell  into  the  arms  of  Herr  von  Hamilton,  with  whom 
he  exchanged  the  usual  effusive  Russian  osculatory  greetings. 
He  was  the  secretary  of  the  nazelnik,  or  governor,  of  the 
town,  and  told  us,  among  other  things,  that  he  had  just  sent 
his  family  for  a  holiday  to  Italy.  It  is  characteristic  of 
Russian  conditions  that,  whereas  the  official  "  salary  "  of  this 
man  was  about  ^50  a  year,  his  "income"  was  said  to  be 
i^lSOO  !  The  governor,  a  typical  Russian  superior  official, 
wearing  a  white  military  uniform  with  a  gold-braided  collar, 
received  us  with  cordiality.  Vodka  and  cognac  were  handed 
round,  followed  by  champagne,  and  geniality  prevailed.  The 
governor  spoke  French,  and  complained  that  he  was  sadly 
overworked  :  his  latest  "  onerous "  task  had  been  to  take  his 
children  to  school !  Of  this  magnate  I  was  told  that  his 
official  salary  was  about  =£?600,  whereas  his  real  "  income " 
was  estimated  at  between  .^PSOOO  and  =£'4000  a  year  ! 

Towards  evening  we  set  out  on  our  way  back  via  Sosnowice. 
The  official  in  charge  at  the  frontier  station  was  a  Russian 
officer  in  the  prime  of  life  ;  fair,  and  of  a  handsome  type.  I 
was  told  that  he  had  belonged  to  one  of  the  Petersburg  Guard 
regiments,  had  got  into  debt,  and  had  been  relegated  to  this 
station  in  order  to  improve  his  finances.  Such  were  the 
possibilities  of  bribery  and  corruption  in  those  parts.  Every 
transaction  in  which  the  authorities  have  a  hand — from  the 
obtaining  of  the  passport — has  to  be  carried  through  by  the 
aid  of  "  tips."  Whilst  we  were  there  several  well-to-do 
looking  gentlemen  came  in,  who  apparently  had  some  business 
to  transact,  although   it  must    have    been    long  past  official 

83 


GERMAN    MEMORIES 

hours.  From  their  deferential,  almost  abject,  attitude  it  was 
easy  to  gauge  the  subservience  of  the  civilian  towards  the 
bureaucratic  autocracy. 

It  was  getting  late  when  we  re-started,  and  night  had 
drawn  in  when  we  reached  the  boundary-line.  This  was 
formed  by  a  rivulet,  the  bridge  over  which  was  barred  and 
chained,  a  Russian  sentinel  standing  on  guard.  Herr  von 
Hamilton  proceeded  to  the  guardhouse,  and  it  was  some  time 
before  he  obtained  a  pass.  Only  then  was  the  chain  with- 
drawn, and  we  were  allowed  to  cross  over  into  Prussia,  when  an 
insistent  longing  to  get  back  to  civilisation  gave  way  to  a 
feeling  of  relief — even  of  delight. 

Upper  Silesia  is  a  great  centre  of  Roman  Catholicism,  and 
Bismarck's  KuUurTcampf  (in  1873-80)  furnished  a  striking 
illustration  of  the  truth  of  how  little  the  soul  of  a  people  is 
really  concerned  in  the  affairs  of  everyday  public  life,  or  even 
known  to  some  of  its  political  leaders.  This  was  abundantly 
shown  by  the  unexpected  outburst  of  religious  fervour 
brought  about  by  this  measure  in  the  different  Roman 
Catholic  parts  of  Prussia,  a  religious  revival  which  has  lasted 
undiminished  down  to  the  present  day,  and  nowhere  more  than 
in  Roman  Catholic  Silesia,  where  the  population  is  largely 
Polish. 

When  I  came  to  those  parts  the  Kulturkampf  was  over, 
although  it  was  only  in  1891,  after  Bismarck's  dismissal,  that 
the  triumph  of  the  Catholic  hierarchy  became  complete  by 
the  handing  over  of  the  sum  of  sixteen  million  marks  of 
confiscated  money — the  so-called  Sperrgelder — by  the  Prussian 
Government  to  the  Catholic  clergy  (Prussian  Law  of 
June  24,  1891).  The  great  statesman  who  had  conquered 
Austria  and  France  in  the  course  of  five  years  was  powerless 
here  in  the  world  of  religious  sentiment.  Whilst  the 
struggle  lasted  its  effects  were  of  a  cataclysmic  character. 
All  the  monasteries  were  closed  except  those  devoted  to  nursing 
the  sick.  The  peasant  population  refused  to  attend  the 
churches  in  which  priests  appointed  by  the  Prussian  Govern- 
ment said  Mass,  and  the  people  clung  to  their  persecuted 
84 


THE    SILESIAN    NOBILITY 

clergy  rather  than  to  the  Sovereign  of  their  country. 
Many  noble  families  were  split  up  in  antagonism  for  and 
against  the  Government. 

I  remember  meeting  a  Count  S.,  of  whom  I  was  told  that 
he  had  openly  expressed  himself  to  the  effect  that  if  the  Pope 
called  upon  him  he  would  march  even  against  his  own  Sove- 
reign, the  King  of  Prussia.  "  In  that  case,"  somebody  present 
is  reported  to  have  replied,  "  I  hope  that  an  honest  Uhlan 
will  run  his  lance  through  your  body."  The  Count  had  been 
an  officer  in  a  regiment  of  Uhlans. 

Not  very  far  from  Deschowitz,  on  a  hill  twelve  hundred  and 
fifty  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea,  is  the  far-famed  shrine  of 
Annaberg,  to  M'hich  we  now  and  then  drove  in  the  afternoon, 
and  where  I  was  witness  of  the  domination  of  the  Catholic 
priesthood  as  it  still  exists  in  those  parts.  It  is  a  great  centre 
of  pilgrimages — like  Lourdes  and  La  Salette  in  France — and 
at  certain  times  of  the  year  is  visited  by  as  many  as  fifty 
thousand  pilgrims,  who  come  from  afar,  camp  out  in  the  open 
on  the  hill,  and  remain  there  for  several  days.  It  was  a 
curious  sight  to  watch  the  pilgrims  of  both  sexes  and  all  ages, 
tramping  along  the  high  road,  with  banners  and  streamers 
flying,  alternately  chanting,  singing,  praying,  and  conversing 
among  themselves.  Many  had  the  peculiar  ecstatic  expression 
which  distinguishes  religious  enthusiasts  of  every  creed 
cripples,  beggars,  and  children  thronged  the  country  roads. 

I  possess  a  photograph  of  one  of  these  curious  crowds 
as  they  came  rushing  down  a  hill  in  a  compact  mass 
like  an  avalanche  towards  us.  It  might  have  been  the 
time  of  the  Crusades  for  all  the  difference  there  seemed — 
according  to  all  appearance — between  the  religious  fervour  we 
read  of  in  the  twelfth  century  and  that  of  this  chanting  mass 
of  humanity.  They  were  led  by,  and  apparently  completely 
under  the  control  of,  a  young,  clean-shaven,  bare-headed  monk, 
in  a  brown  cowl,  with  a  white  rope  girdle  fastened  round  his 
waist.  He  was  a  very  fine  specimen  of  his  calling,  with  a 
happy,  healthy,  fearless  smile,  showing  faultless  white  teeth  ; 
altogether  a  man  such  as  Luther  might  have  been  before  he 

85 


GERMAN    MEMORIES 

went  to  Rome  to  be  disgusted  by  the  depraved  life  of  the 
priesthood  in  the  Eternal  City.  We  got  into  conversation 
with  him,  and  he  told  us  with  quiet  pride  that  he  had  begun 
his  career  as  a  thurifer  in  a  village  church  ;  but  I  could  see 
by  his  whole  bearing  that,  however  humble  his  beginnings,  he 
was  fully  conscious  of  the  position  of  spiritual  power  to  which  he 
had  risen. 

We  climbed  the  hill  and  entered  the  church  in  which  was 
the  shrine.  Priests  were  busy  at  work  confessing  the  pilgrims, 
who  so  covered  the  stone  floor  of  the  chapel  that  it  was 
impossible  for  us  to  pass  without  picking  our  way  between 
their  prostrate  bodies. 

Part  of  the  crowd  were  gathered  round  a  little  desk  in  a 
cross  passage,  where  sat  a  priest  taking  the  pilgrims'  money  as 
fast  as  they  could  hand  it  in  for  Masses  to  be  said  on  their 
behalf. 

From  the  chapel  we  passed  on  to  the  monastery  close  by 
belonging  to  the  austere  order  of  St.  Francis,  with  the 
Superior  of  which  Countess  Bethusy-Huc,  as  a  local  notability, 
was  acquainted,  although  she  herself  and  her  family  are  Pro- 
testants. An  amiable  Brother,  over  eighty  years  of  age, 
conducted  us  through  the  long  cloisters,  on  the  walls 
of  which  the  significant  word  "  Silence "  was  written.  He 
took  us  into  his  carpetless  little  cell,  on  the  walls  of 
which  hung  some  coloured  prints  of  saints  ;  there  stood  also 
his  bed,  which  he  always  made  himself.  He  had  slept  in  it, 
as  he  told  us,  on  that  very  spot  for  the  last  fifty  years,  and 
would  do  so  until  he  should  be  carried  out  to  his  last  resting- 
place.  He  then  led  us  into  the  garden  of  the  monastery, 
which  was  surrounded  by  walls,  and  took  evident  pleasure 
in  pointing  out  the  beautiful  view  into  the  valley  and  beyond. 
As  we  passed  we  caught  a  glimpse  of  a  handsome  young  monk, 
walking  hurriedly  backwards  and  forwards  in  the  garden,  with 
his  arms  crossed  under  his  cowl,  taking  his  prescribed  daily 
exercise.  His  head  was  bent  low,  as  if  anxious  to  avoid 
meeting  a  human  glance,  or  seeing  the  picturesque  villages  in 
the  distant  outer  world,  with  their  warm-coloured  life,  the 
86 


THE    SILESIAN    NOBILITY 

attractions  of  which  he  had  perhaps  not  wholly  succeeded  in 
rooting  from  his  heart.  There  was  a  silent  struggle  here ; 
suffering,  if  anywhere  in  the  world. 

When  we  took  our  leave  of  the  Superior  he  responded  with 
"  God  be  with  you  "  in  a  kind  voice. 

On  our  way  back  Countess  Bethusy-Huc  told  me  of  the  great 
influence  which  the  Catholic  priesthood  had  in  these  parts. 
A  school  friend  of  hers  had  entered  a  convent  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood, and  she  had  recently  paid  her  a  visit.  On  express- 
ing her  surprise  at  the  change  in  her  friend,  the  nun  had 
replied  :  "  Yes,  I  am  no  longer  your  old  friend  Mizi :  I  am 
only  Sister  Barbara  now.  It  was  a  struggle  at  first  to  give 
up  the  world,  but  now  it  is  all  over — peace,  quiet,  and  happi- 
ness. I  know  you  think  it  all  fancy  and  superstition,  but 
what  you  take  to  be  superstitions  are  only  symbols  to  us. 
The  reality  is  the  trumpet-call  of  duty,  which  silences  every 
earthly  passion  and  brings  peace  withal  in  its  train.  If  you 
could  only  feel  as  I  do  you  would  understand  me,  and  smile  as 
I  do  now  at  those  things  which  we  both  used  to  think  of  such 
paramount  importance :  our  ridiculous  social  prejudices,  our 
innate  selfishness." 


87 


CHAPTER  VII 

GUST  A  V  VON  MOSER 

One  evening  in  1879  I  was  sitting  in  the  dining-room  of 
the  Hotel  Stadt  Berlin  at  Dresden  when  a  tall,  aristocratic- 
looking  man,  somewhere  about  fifty  years  of  age,  of  singularly 
erect  and  dignified  bearing,  came  into  the  room  and  took  a 
seat  not  far  from  where  I  was  sitting  at  the  long  dining-table. 
It  struck  me  that  he  might  well  be  one  of  those  Prussian 
country  gentlemen,  many  of  whom  frequented  the  hotel,  who, 
having  been  in  the  army  in  younger  days,  had  taken  over 
their  family  estates  and  farmed  their  own  land :  a  stern- 
featured,  hard-living  race  of  men,  who  for  generations  had 
contributed  some  of  the  best  blood  to  the  Prussian  army. 
Not  many  minutes  passed  when  Herr  Marschner,  the  genial 
host,  came  in,  and,  turning  to  me,  said  :  "  Why,  that  gentleman 
is  Herr  von  Moser,  an  old  friend  of  your  father's." 

I  had  heard  my  father  speak  of  the  popular  playwright  and 
gay  man  of  the  world,  and  was  delighted  to  meet  so  distin- 
guished and  interesting  a  personage,  who,  moreover,  exactly 
tallied  with  the  first  impression  he  had  made  on  me.  For, 
after  having  been  in  his  youth  a  page  in  ordinary  to  Prince 
William  of  Prussia,  afterwards  German  Emperor,  Herr  von 
Moser  had  served  in  the  army  for  a  lengthened  period,  and 
had  finally  settled  down  as  a  country  gentleman  on  his  estate 
of  Holzkirch,  near  Lauban,  which  he  had  acquired  by  his 
marriage,  of  late  years  adding  considerably  to  his  income  by 
the  writing  of  plays,  many  of  which  still  belong  to  the  staple 
repertory  of  the  German  stage.  It  was  to  clear  off  a  debt  of 
ten  thousand  pounds,  which  he  had  contracted  by  leading  rather 
too  generously  the  life  of  a  country  gentleman,  as  he  after- 
88 


BAEON  GUSTAV  VOX  MOSKR 


GUSTAV    VON    MOSER 

wards  told  me,  that  he  began  playwriting.  He  gave  up  his 
country  establishment,  took  a  modest  villa  in  the  town  of 
Lauban,  set  to  work,  and  succeeded  in  paying  off  his 
indebtedness. 

Herr  von  Moser  had  come  to  Dresden  to  attend  the 
premiere  of  his  new  comedy,  Der  BibliothcJcar,  since  known  all 
over  the  world,  wherever  the  English  tongue  is  spoken,  as  "  The 
Private  Secretarv."  He  asked  me  whether  it  was  a  play 
which  would  "  take '"  in  England,  and  I  replied  that  it  might 
possibly  succeed.  He  suggested  that  I  should  translate  it 
into  English,  trv  to  "  place ""  it  in  England,  and  share  the 
proceeds.      I  agreed  to  this,  and  began  the  work  at  once. 

On  my  return  to  London  I  offered  it  to  Sir  Charles 
Wyndham,  but  he  replied  that  he  had  seen  the  piece 
in  German,  and  did  not  think  it  would  appeal  to  an  English 
audience — an  error  of  judgment  which,  many  years  afterwards, 
he  admitted  to  me  that  he  had  good  cause  to  regret.  Ultimately 
I  gave  the  piece  to  Mr.  Charles  Hawtrey,  who,  as  all  the 
world  knows,  made  an  unprecedented  success  of  it.  The 
strange,  if  not  unique,  feature  of  the  play  is  that,  although 
Herr  von  Moser  had  never  been  in  England,  the  characters 
of  the  curate  and  the  tailor,  with  scarcely  any  adaptation,  are 
humorous  skits  on  these  types  of  English  life.  "  The  Private 
Secretary ""  is  said  to  have  brought  those  who  were  interested  in 
its  production  close  upon  ^100,000.  Unfortunately  for 
Herr  von  Moser,  the  author's  rights,  through  defective  in- 
ternational copyright  law  at  that  time,  had  fallen  into 
abeyance,  and  he  received  only  a  nominal  consideration.^ 

But  I  have  anticipated.  My  first  meeting  with  Gustav  von 
Moser  was  the  precursor  of  many  others  ;  for  his  Silesian 
home  lay  directly  on  my  way  to  the  Silesian  glassworks, 
and  on  our  first  parting  he  expressed  a  wish  that  I  might 
never  come  to  that  part  of  the  world  without  stopping  at  his 
door.      It   thus    came    about    that    for   close    upon    ten   years 

1  I  subsequently  gave  Mr.  Hawtrey  another  play  of  Herr  von  Moser's,  written 
in  collaboration  with  Dr.  Girndt,  Mit  Vergnugen,  which  was  performed  in 
London  under  the  title  of  The  Pickpocket  about  two  hundred  times. 

89 


G  E  R  M  A  N    M  E  M  OKIES 

hardly  a  year  passed  that  I  was  not  his  guest  in  the  shooting 
season,  or  that  we  did  not  meet  either  in  Dresden,  Berlin, 
Goerlitz,  or  at  some  small  watering-place  ;  notably  at 
Warmbrunn,  where  in  the  summer  a  touring  company  of  actors 
would  give  a  preliminary  performance  of  his  latest  play  before 
it  was  submitted  in  the  autumn  to  the  more  critical  audiences 
of  Berlin  or  Dresden.  It  thus  happened  that  I  was  often 
present  at  the  birth  of  the  children  of  his  muse,  some  of  which 
were  the  product  of  collaboration  with  other  playwrights, 
especially  Franz  von  Schonthan,  part  author  of  Moser's  greatest 
financial  success,  Krieg  im  Frieden,  which  brought  them 
the  then  almost  record  sum  of  200,000  marks  (i^l  0,000). 

Every  September  Moser  came  to  Berlin  to  attend  the  first 
performance  of  his  newest  play,  upon  the  financial  results  of 
which  depended  his  supply  of  petite  monnaie  for  the  year ;  as 
its  pecuniary  value  was  largely  decided  by  the  reception  the 
public  gave  to  the  premiere  at  the  Friedrich- Wilhelm-Stiidtische 
Theater.  I  was  present  on  several  such  occasions.  Greater 
and  greater  was  Moser''s  suppressed  excitement  as  the  play 
progressed.  I  have  seen  the  perspiration  pour  down  his  face 
during  the  performance  as  we  sat  in  the  stage  box  ;  and  well 
it  might,  since  upon  the  favourable  reception  by  the  public, 
and  by  the  great  critics,  Paul  Lindau  and  Oscar  Blumenthal 
(both  successful  playwrights),  depended  the  fate  of  the  play, 
and  he  was  never  quite  sure  of  their  verdict.  How- 
ever, they  were  usually  inclined  to  act  generously  towards 
their  distinguished  confrere,  with  whom,  after  the  performance, 
they  would  spend  the  evening  at  '*  Borchardfs ""  over  a  game 
at  skat.  Only  once  do  I  remember  Moser  looking  on  perfectly 
unconcerned  during  the  whole  performance,  and  that  was 
when,  just  before  the  play  began,  he  had  sold  it  outright  to 
the  theatrical  agent,  Felix  Bioch,  for  40,000  marks.  On 
this  occasion  it  was  not  Moser,  but  Bloch,  who  was  bathed 
in  perspiration  ! 

Those  were  gay  times  for  everybody  who  was  privileged  to 
enjoy  Herr  von  Moser"'s  society,  for  a  more  charming  man, 
one  more  free  from  conceit,  and  a  more  mentally  stimulating 
90 


GUST  A  V    VON    MOSER 

companion  I  have  never  met.  To  such  an  extent  was  this  the 
case  that,  although  I  was  very  fond  of  partridge-shooting,  on 
more  than  one  occasion  I  gave  up  my  gun  to  one  of  the 
beaters  and  looked  after  Moser's  pointer,  so  as  to  have  the 
pleasure  of  walking  by  his  side.  Never  have  I  known  a  more 
observant  student  of  character,  nor  a  man  more  thoroughly 
endowed  with  a  natural  gift  of  good-natured  humour,  based 
upon  a  well-balanced  joyous  serenity  of  mind  ;  this  founded 
upon  an  almost  indestructible  nervous  system.  Besides  his 
inborn  love  of  the  theatre  and  his  known  admiration  for  the 
fair  sex,  he  possessed  a  reserve  fund  of  interest  for  almost 
every  variety  of  intellectual  endeavour.  His  was  a  generous 
nature.  He  was  entirely  devoid  of  that  envious,  carping, 
critical  element  which  is  the  bane  of  intellectual  Germany,  and 
which  finds  a  gratification  in  depreciating  and  minimising 
others,  and  took  a  keen  pleasure  in  recognising  and  encourag- 
ing the  efforts  of  all.  Thus  it  would  suffice  that  any- 
body should  say  something  to  him  in  the  course  of  conversa- 
tion which  suggested  a  novel  dramatic  situation  for  Moser  to 
offer  to  enter  into  collaboration  and  share  the  profits  with  a 
penniless  author.  It  is  partly  due  to  his  encouragement  that 
I  took  up  writing  as  a  profession. 

Although  Moser  had  passed  the  impressionable  younger 
years  of  his  life  in  Court  and  military  circles,  I  do  not 
remember  that  he  ever  mentioned  the  former  in  all  the  years 
of  our  intimacy.  His  interests  were  given  to  things  which 
allowed  a  scope  for  his  fanciful  imagination,  his  constructive 
ability,  which  was  allied  to  an  almost  childlike  ndivett  of 
heart.  He  told  me  his  father  had  been  an  expert  in 
architecture,  and  from  this  he  deduced  his  own  facility  for 
sketching  plans  and  plots  of  plays ;  for  he  would  evolve  and 
discuss  the  whole  scenario  of  a  new  play  in  the  coiu-se  of  an 
afternoon  walk.  His  mother  was  a  Friiulein  von  Moellendorff', 
of  the  well-known  Prussian  military  family  of  that  name. 

He  would  come  to  see  me  at  the  glassworks,  enter  into  all 
the  details  of  the  process  of  manufacture,  and  make  original, 
and  sometimes  most  fanciful,  suggestions  in  connection  with 

91 


GERMAN    MEMORIES 

the  production  of  glass.  Once  we  met  some  American  buyers 
at  the  works,  which  led  to  the  remark  that  there  was 
something  in  the  gaze  of  the  average  American  which  be- 
tokened a  closer  proximity  of  the  eyes  to  the  brain  and  a 
more  intense  nervous  activity  than  among  Europeans. 

Anything  coarse  and  vulgar  instinctively  repelled  Moser. 
The  arrogance,  the  prejudices,  and  the  undue  pride  of  birth  of 
his  own  caste  excited  his  derision.  He  could  see  no  satisfac- 
tion in  a  life  of  ease  or  ostentation.  He  envied  me  my 
business  interests,  which  he  would  call  a  stimulating,  satisfying 
vocation.  It  brought  me  in  touch  with  the  working  world, 
helping  to  produce  values,^  and  afforded  many  opportunities  for 
studying  character  and  enlarging  the  mind  ;  whereas  an  official 
career  is  a  humdrum,  narrowing  affair,  unlikely  to  remove 
prejudices  or  broaden  the  mind.  As  for  the  career  of  arms, 
with  rare  exceptions  it  is  one  of  splendid  misery,  culminating 
in  an  impecunious  old  age.  Moser  was  almost  Goethean  in  his 
appreciation  of  things  according  to  their  value  for  the  world 
at  large ;  the  practical,  the  productive,  the  intellectual,  as 
opposed  to  the  ornamental,  the  showy  side  of  life.  Even  a 
display  of  physical  prowess,  as  antagonistic  to  mental  matter, 
failed  to  excite  his  admiration.  Thus,  when  a  powerful  young 
man  "  showed  off"  in  our  presence  by  lifting  some  heavy  weights, 
Moser  turned  to  me  muttering  contemptuously  :  "  The  strong 
man  ! "  He  possessed  in  a  high  degree  that  broad  cosmo- 
politan cast  of  mind  which  was  a  marked  characteristic  of 
well-bred  Germans  of  his  day.  His  idea  of  strength  was  that 
of  intellect  and  character,  which  showed  itself  in  self-restraint 
and  self-command.  Even  under  the  most  difficult  conditions 
his  self-possession  and  his  temper  remained  unruffled,  and  his 
strong  sense  of  humour  unaffected. 

In   common  with    most   of   those    who    had    been    in    the 
entourage  of  the  late  Emperor  William,  Moser  was  a  man  of 

1  About  that  time  I  was  able  to  save  two  Bohemian  manufacturers  from 
financial  embarrassment  by  the  large  orders  I  gave  them  for  my  London  firm. 
One  of  them  died  a  rich  man,  and  never  forgot  what  he  was  good  enough  to 
consider  the  great  services  I  had  been  able  to  render  him  at  a  critical  juncture. 

92 


GUSTAV    VON    MOSER 

extreme  courtesy  of  manner.  This  he  preserved  even  in  the 
most  trying  situations.  Thinking  of  him  reminds  me  of  an 
incident  which  Prince  Bismarck  told  me  relating  to  the 
Emperor  William,  and  which  I  have  never  seen  in  print. 
The  Prince  was  walking  with  the  Emperor  through  a 
wood  near  Gastein  when  his  Majesty  was  suddenly  overtaken 
by  what  the  Romans  referred  to  in  the  saying  :  "  Naturalia 
non  sunt  tiirpia.''''  Bismarck  arranged  with  the  gentlemen-in- 
waiting  to  keep  a  sharp  look-out,  and  the  Emperor  vanished 
from  view.  When  he  reappeared  he  walked  up  to  each  of 
the  officials  in  attendance,  bowing  and  touching  his  hat,  as 
much  as  to  thank  them  individually  for  the  efficient  way  in 
which  they  had  performed  their  sentinel  duties.  In  telling  me 
the  story  Prince  Bismarck  added  that  there  was  something  so 
dignified  in  the  whole  bearing  of  the  Emperor  and  in  the  way 
he  thanked  them  that  they  felt  it  was  indeed  a  King  who  had 
obeyed  an  urgent  call  of  nature. 

Millions  have  laughed  at  the  intensely  humorous  situations 
in  Moser's  plays ;  and  many  have  shed  tears  over  the  deft 
touches  of  human  nature  which  are  contained  in  the  best  of 
them  which  still  hold  the  stage  to-day — "The  Private  Secre- 
tary ""  even  in  England.  Such  was  the  exquisite  sensibility  of 
his  psychic  organisation  that  I  have  seen  tears  in  his  eyes  when 
witnessing  his  own  play,  Der  Veilchenfresser.  And  withal 
he  never  wrote  a  line  which  could  offend  the  most  squeamish. 

Strange  to  say,  except  the  Cross  of  the  Red  Eagle,  which 
he  gained  in  the  Danish  campaign  of  1848  as  lieutenant  in 
the  Fifth  Jiiger,  Herr  von  Moser  never  received  any  mark  of 
favour  from  his  sovereign.  I  once  asked  him  whether  the  old 
Emperor  had  ever  shown  him  any  attention  ;  for  after  all  he 
had  greatly  contributed  to  the  gaiety  of  the  nation.  He 
replied  that  the  Emperor  had  his  own  peculiar  notions  as  to 
what  was  a  fit  occupation  for  a  Prussian  officer,  and  probably 
looked  upon  him  as  one  who  had  gone  astray  and  had  rather 
lowered  himself  by  becoming  a  play-writer.  Moser's  was  a 
proud  nature,  and  to  curry  favour  even  from  a  monarch  went 
against  his  grain.     Thus  it  happened  that  a  man  of  distinction 

93 


GERMAN    MEMORIES 

who  had  made  a  world-wide  reputation  in  so  difficult  a 
vocation  as  that  of  a  successful  writer  of  healthy  comedies — 
some  of  which  tended  to  glorify,  in  a  harmless  manner,  the 
very  profession  he  belonged  to,  for  his  plays  of  military  life 
are  among  his  most  popular  ones — was  officially  ignored  in  his 
own  country. 

In  his  old  age — for  he  lived  to  be  78 — an  attempt  was 
made  by  friends,  without  his  knowledge,  to  obtain  some 
recognition  for  him  from  the  present  German  Emperor,  who 
has  distinguished  so  many  authors  of  different  nationalities. 
But  it  failed.  Duke  Ernest  of  Coburg-Gotha,  alone  of 
German  Sovereign  Princes,  honoured  Moser  with  his  friend- 
ship. 

Herr  von  Moser  was  in  a  high  degree  what  the  French 
term  Jine  mouche,  and  he  got  much  fun  out  of  a  quiet 
contemplation  of  human  foibles.  He  enjoyed  telling  how, 
when  he  first  came  to  the  Lilliputian  Court  of  Coburg,  the 
Court  Chamberlain,  the  Master  of  the  Horse,  Gentlemen  Ushers, 
and  jack-booted  Aides-de-Camp  adopted  an  expectant,  not  to 
say  a  frigid,  attitude  towards  him.  Only  after  the  Duke  had 
presented  him  to  his  "  lady  reader ''  did  their  demeanour 
undergo  a  sudden,  a  revolutionary  change.  For  then  it  was 
patent  to  all  that  the  visitor  was  not  a  mere  nobody,  to  be 
snubbed  with  impunity,  but  a  person  of  distinction — one  who 
basked  in  the  effulgent  sunshine  of  Ducal  favour,  and  "  stood 
high  in  grace,""  as  Cromwell  maintained  that  he  himself  did 
before  God  at  the  battle  of  Dunbar.  It  was  to  Moser  that 
the  Duke  confided  the  secret  that  he  was  the  author  of 
the  pamphlet  Fremde  Hdnde  in  Deutscliland^  which  created 
quite  a  sensation  five-and-twenty  years  ago.  The  two  had 
much  in  common — love  of  the  stage  and  of  the  "  eternal 
feminine.""  The  Duke  said  to  him  one  day,  half-jokingly : 
"  Moser,  I  want  to  give  you  something.  Will  you  have  my 
Family  House  Order,  or  would  you  prefer  the  title  of  Court 
Councillor  ? ""  Moser  smiled,  and  chose  the  latter,  but,  down 
to  his  last  hour,  he  would  always  have  rated  the  smile  of  a 
pretty  woman  far  higher  than  any  titular  distinction.  One  of 
94 


GUSTAV    VON    MOSER 

his  favourite  sayings  was :  "  The  fair  sex  ask  a  million  of  us  in 
small  change.  There''s  the  rub.  If  they  asked  for  a  million 
we  might  perhaps  be  able  to  provide  it  for  them.  It  is  the 
paying  out  this  huge  sum  in  small  change  day  by  day  all  the 
year  round  which  breaks  us."  Another  of  his  sayings  was 
Schopenhauer's  :  "  By  marriage  we  halve  our  rights  and  double 
our  responsibilities."  This,  however,  did  not  prevent  him 
from  telegraphing  to  me  on  my  wedding-day  :  "  I  wish  you 
all  happiness  on  this  the  most  beautiful  day  of  your  life." 

The  following  two  letters,  selected  from  many  in  my 
possession,  throw  a  sympathetic  light  on  the  man  : 

"  Berlin,  Mkinhaedt's  Hotel, 
''Nov.  24,  1884. 

"  Dear  Friend, 

"  I  have  been  here  in  Berlin  for  the  last  three  weeks 
working  at  a  new  play  with  Schoenthan.  Have  received  your 
letter,  which  was  forwarded  to  me,  and  acknowledge  with 
thanks  the  receipt  of  cheque. 

"  I  have  quite  given  myself  up  to  philosophy.  I  devote  the 
morning  to  work,  and  read  of  an  afternoon.  I  hover  above  a 
metaphysical  abyss,  but  I  keep  my  head  well  balanced  as  an 
accumulator  of  the  understanding. 

"  Buy  '  The  Philosophy  of  Mysticism,'  by  Dr.  C.  du  Prel ; 
'  The  Prejudices  of  Mankind,'  by  Hellenbach  ;  '  The  Magic  of 
Figures,'  by  Hellenbach,  both  of  the  latter  published  in 
Vienna. 

"  The  last  is  very  interesting  and  stimulating,  but  it  doesn't 
do  to  get  giddy  in  the  head  and  fall  over  the  metaphysical 
precipice.  Try  to  discover  the  rhythm  of  your  life.  With 
that  book  as  a  guide  you  can  do  it.  Do  not  dream  too  much 
of  your  deceased  brother ;  think  in  waking  more  about 
yourself. 

"  With  best  greetings, 

"  Yours, 

"  G.    VON    MoSER." 


95 


GERMAN    MEMORIES 

"Lauban,  Oct.  29,  1885. 

"  My  dear  Friend, 

"  We  have  only  one  head,  and  you  will  hardly 
believe  how  much  I  have  had  to  wiite  and  think  about 
of  late,  to  correct  and  copy,  in  order  to  get  my  new 
play  performed.  Added  thereto  several  trips  to  Goerlitz, 
and  in  between  now  and  then  a  day's  shooting.  At 
last  the  dice  have  fallen,  and  you  will  be  glad  to  hear  that  the 
success  has  indeed  exceeded  my  expectations.  It  is  a  play  in 
the  style  of  Ultimo  and  Der  Hypochonder,^  and  you  will  be 
able  to  appreciate  its  effect  when  I  tell  you  that  Bloch  offered 
me  50,000  marks  for  it  the  next  day.  I  have  not  yet  closed 
with  him,  but  must  decide  to-morrow.  This  was  a  ray 
of  sunshine  breaking  through  dark  clouds.  With  a  little  time 
and  trouble  after  the  second  performance  I  shall  be  able 
to  revise  it,  and  only  then  will  it  be  quite  up  to  the  mark. 

"  To-morrow  we  are  to  shoot  at  Holzkirch,  and  the  day  after 
I  will  write  to  you  again.  Adieu  for  to-day,  dear  friend, 
with  cordial  greeting, 

"  Yours, 

"  G.   VON  MOSER." 

In  1888,  owing  to  family  responsibilities,  life  assumed  a 
more  serious  aspect  for  me.  I  could  no  longer  afford  the 
luxury  of  spending  my  time  in  the  company  of  this  witty 
hon  vivant,  this  kind-hearted  friend.  The  last  time  I  saw  him 
was  in  the  winter  of  1890,  when  I  paid  him  a  flying  visit 
at  Goerlitz,  whither  he  had  moved  after  the  death  of  his  wife. 
I  had  just  written  an  essay  on  the  Prussian  army  {Psycho- 
logie  der  Deutschen  Armee),  and  one  morning  after  breakfast 
I  gave  him  a  copy  to  read.  I  happened  to  leave  the  room, 
and  when  I  came  back  I  found  him  poring  over  the  pamphlet 
with  an  agitated  look  on  his  face.  I  asked  him  what  was  the 
matter.  He  looked  up  and  said  :  "  I  have  been  a  Prussian  officer 
myself,  and  your  description  comes  home  to  me."'"'  Ave  atque  vale  ! 
1  Two  of  Moser's  earlier  and  most  successful  comedies. 

96 


CHAPTER     VIII 

FIELD-MARSHAL  MOLTKE 

My  acquaintance  with  the  great  strategist  was  brought  about 
by  one  of  his  nepheAvs — who  was  at  the  same  time  his  brother- 
in-law — Colonel  Henry  von  Burt,^  one  of  the  most  generous 
and  high-minded  men  it  has  ever  been  my  privilege  to  count 
among  my  friends. 

In  the  eighties   Colonel  (then  Major)  von  Burt  was  living  at 
Blasewitz,  on  the  Elbe,  near  Dresden,  not  far  from  the  well- 
known     hostelry    of    classical     associations,     Zur    Gustel     von 
Blasewitz^  ^  past  which  I  had  often  walked  during  my  schooldays. 
Moltke  paid  repeated    visits  to  his  nephew's    villa,   and  it  was 
there  that  a  droll  incident  occurred,  under  the  chestnut  trees  of 
the  picturesque  garden.      One  day  a  stranger,   looking  over  the 
garden  railings,   saw    an  old   man,    whose   well-worn   straw  hat 
seemed  to  betoken  the  gardener  :   "  They  say  that  Moltke  is  on 
a  visit  here.      Could   you    tell   me,   sir,   whether    it    might    be 
possible  to  catch  sight  of  him  ? ""     The  old  man  replied   that  if 
the  gentleman  would  come  again  in  the  course  of  the  afternoon 
he  might  perhaps  see  Moltke  in  the  garden.      In   his  joy    the 
stranger  tendered   a   mark   to  the    communicative   "gardener,"' 
who  promptly  pocketed  it.      The   stranger''s  consternation  may 
well  be  imagined  when  on  his  return  in  the  afternoon  he  beheld 
the  identical  old  "  gardener  "  walking  arm  in  arm  with  Major 
von  Burt  !      Moltke  waved  a  greeting,  and,  with  a  smile,  called 
out  to  him  :   "  I  have  still  got  your  mark." 

1  The  Burt  family  came  orig;inally  from  Staffordshire,  and  John  Heyliger 
Burt,  the  father  of  Moltke's  wife  and  of  her  brother  Colonel  Henry  von  Burt, 
was  owner  of  Colton  House,  near  Lichfield.  He  married  Moltke's  sister  and 
came  to  live  in  Holstein  ;  hence  the  double  relationship  between  the  two 
families.  ^   Vide  Schiller's  Wallenatein, 

G  97 


GERMAN    MEMORIES 

The  fact  that  Major  von  Burt  was  not  only  related  to  the 
famous  strategist,  but  was  also  at  times  his  host,  stamped  him 
as  a  notability  in  Dresden  society,  where  contact  with  the  really 
"  great  "  has  always  been  somewhat  rare.  Von  Burt,  however, 
had  little  taste  for  "  society,"  and  in  all  probability  I  sliould 
never  have  met  him  had  not  a  fortunate  circumstance  drawn  me 
to  the  house  of  the  late  Professor  Emil  Naumann,  the  eminent 
historian  of  music  ;  for,  like  many  Prussian  officers  of  other 
days,  Burt  was  an  enthusiastic  lover  of  music.  He  had  a  fine 
baritone  voice,  trained  by  Stockhausen,  and  sang  beautifully. 
Thus  I  made  his  acquaintance,  which,  in  course  of  time,  ripened 
into  intimate  lifelong  friendship. 

About  that  time  I  had  brought  out  a  book  dealing  with 
social  and  political  conditions  in  England.^  Major  von  Burt 
read  it,  and,  ever  desirous  of  securing  recognition  for  others, 
said  to  me  one  day  :  *'  The  Field-Marshal  must  read  that." 
The  idea  of  being  read  by  Field-Marshals — especially  by  the 
distinguished  variety  of  silent  ones — was  both  novel  and  pleasing 
to  me.  The  Field-Marshal  read  the  book,  and,  as  a  token  of 
his  good-will,  sent  me  a  signed  photograph,  which  I  afterwards 
caused  to  be  reproduced  as  a  frontispiece  to  the  English  version 
of  "  Moltke^s  Letters  to  his  Wife." ' 

In  1888,  on  completing  my  book,  "Imperial  Germany,"  I 
sent  the  Field-Marshal  a  copy,  and  in  return  received  the 
following  autograph  letter  of  thanks,  which  has  since  been 
allotted  a  lasting  place  of  honour  in  the  German  edition 
of  "  Moltke's  Collected  Works  and  Correspondence." 

"  Berlin,  Jan.  21,  1889. 
"  Dear  Sir, 

"  I  have  read   your  study   on  Germany  with   the  greatest 
interest. 

"  There  can  be  no  doubt  that  every  State  requires  a  Govern- 
ment suited    to   its   individual    idiosyncrasies.      A  Constitution 

1  Conventional  Cant :  Its  Results  and  Remedy,  by  Sidney  Whitman.  Kegan 
Paul,  Trench,  Triibner  &  Co.     London,  1887. 

2  Moltke's  Letters  to  his  Wife.  Kegan  Paul,  Trench,  Triibner  &  Co.  London, 
1896. 

98 


FIELD- MARSHAT.    MOLTKE 

like  that  of  England-^secure  through  her  geographical  position 
— a  Constitution  gradually  developed  out  of  the  character  of 
the  nation,  could  never  be  transferred  to  the  continent  of 
Europe. 

"  France  during  the  last  century  had  tried  alternately 
monarchy  in  various  forms,  empire,  and  republic,  without 
arriving  at  any  definite  result. 

"  Germany,  on  the  other  hand,  only  so  recently  united  as  an 
empire,  is  an  intruder,  a  parvenu,,  in  the  family  of  European 
States.  Hemmed  in  between  mighty  neighbours,  we  are 
of  opinion  that  we  require  a  strong  monarchy.  It  was  there- 
fore a  great  pleasure  for  me  to  find  that  full  justice  had  been 
done  to  the  ancient  and  proven  paternal  government  of  the 
Hohenzollern. 

"  I  thank  you  warmly  for  sending  me  your  inspiring  work. 

"  Gr.  Moltke,  F.M." 

I  subsequently  wrote  a  pamphlet  on  the  German  army,  and 
sent  a  copy  to  Count  Moltke,  who  again  replied,  in  an  auto- 
graph letter,  dated  October  26,  1889,  his  ninetieth  birth- 
day. 

Hitherto  I  had  never  met  the  Field-Marshal,  and,  though  it 
may  seem  strange,  I  had  never  even  felt  a  wish  to  become 
acquainted  with  him.  The  great  battle-thinker  was,  to  my 
mind,  too  unapproachable  a  personage  for  an  ordinary  mortal 
to  hope  to  make  his  personal  acquaintance.  Blessed  are  those 
who  do  not  expect  too  much  in  this  world  !  They  are  sure  to 
be  spared  many  disappointments,  and  perhaps  in  compensation 
they  may,  like  myself,  now  and  then  be  gladdened  by  un- 
expected developments  of  fortune. 

Some  little  time  afterwards  I  paid  a  flying  visit  to  Berlin, 
whither  Major  von  Burt  of  his  own  initiative  sent  me  a  letter 
of  introduction  to  Major  Helmuth  von  Moltke,  another 
nephew  and  aide-de-camp  of  the  Field-Marshal,  who  has  since 
become  his  successor,  being  to-day  Chief  of  the  Great  General 
Staff  of  the  German  Army. 

I  called  at  the  Great  General  Staff  building  in  the  Thier- 

99 


GERMAN    MEMORIES 

garten  (where  Moltke  occupied  a  suite  of  rooms  on  the  first 
floor),  and  presented  ray  letter  of  introduction.  Major  von 
Moltke,  after  some  kindly  words  of  welcome,  much  to  my  sur- 
prise asked  me  if  I  would  like  to  make  the  accjuaintance  of 
the  Field-Marshal.  I  replied  that  I  should  consider  it  a 
great  honour.  Thereupon  he  left  the  room,  and,  on  returning 
after  a  few  minutes,  said  :  "  Come  with  me  ;  the  Field-Marshal 
will  be  pleased  to  receive  you."  We  hurried  through  several 
corridors  in  order  not  to  keep  the  old  soldier  waiting,  when, 
struck  with  a  sense  of  my  temerity,  I  seized  my  companion  by 
the  arm,  and  said  :  "  My  dear  sir,  for  Heaven's  sake  tell  me 
what  I  am  to  say  to  the  Field-Marshal.^'  I  felt  myself  in  a 
similar  predicament  to  that  of  Heine  when  he  went  to  see  the 
great  Goethe.  But  I  fared  better  far  than  the  immortal 
author  of  the  Buck  der  Lieder. 

The  Field-Marshal,  whose  erect  bearing  betrayed  no  sign  of 
advanced  age,  welcomed  me  most  amiably  at  the  threshold  of 
a  large,  oblong,  lofty  room.  After  shaking  hands  he  invited 
me  to  take  a  seat  beside  him  at  his  writing-table,  which  stood 
next  to  a  window  in  the  left-hand  corner  of  the  room.  Who 
had  not  sat  at  that  table  !  It  was  here,  perhaps,  that  the  last 
exchange  of  views  on  wars  and  plans  of  battle  had  taken  place. 
Bismarck  and  Roon,  nay,  even  the  old  Emperor  himself,  had 
often  sat  where  I  was  now  sitting.  The  room  itself,  in  its 
classic  simplicity,  its  lack  of  every  ornament,  seemed  to 
indicate  that  momentous  decisions  had  been  arrived  at  within 
its  walls.  With  the  exception  of  a  bust  of  the  Emperor,  there 
was  absolutely  nothing  to  detract  attention  from  the  writing- 
table,  upon  which  there  was  not  even  a  scrap  of  paper. 

Moltke,  in  his  well-known  wig,  wore  the  undress  uniform  of 
a  Prussian  general,  with  the  blue  enamelled  cross  of  the  order 
Pour  le  Merite  suspended  from  his  collar.  What  distinction 
lay  in  this  solitary  decoration  !  His  voice  was  extremely 
thin,  almost  that  of  a  child.  His  face  was  furrowed  by  fine 
wrinkles,  such  as  I  had  never  seen  before  on  the  face  of  any 
man;  but  his  steel-blue  eyes  still  retained  their  full  penetrating 
brilliancy,  and  gleamed  with  an  uncanny  brightness,  trans- 
100 


FIELD-MARSHAL    MOLTKE 

lucent  as  those  of  a  falcon.  A  very  old  man  sat  in  front  of 
me.  And  yet,  as  I  peered  into  his  face,  I  seemed  to  see  a  grim 
War  God,  lonely  and  terrible,  amid  the  dread  rattle  of  the 
iron  dice.  Those  suggestive  words,  "  Silent  stands  the  front," 
from  Schiller's  battle-poem,  rose  to  my  memory,  as  I  gazed  at 
the  great  soldier. 

In  a  few  kindly  words  the  Field-Marshal  told  me  he  was 
unable  to  fathom  the  source  of  my  apparent  intimate  know- 
ledge of  the  Prussian  army.  How  could  a  stranger  have 
grasped  the  spirit  which  pervaded  it  ?  "  Had  I  been  a 
soldier  ? ""  "  I  had  not,"  I  replied,  "  though  in  my  younger 
days  there  had  been  a  question  in  my  family  of  my  entering 
the  British  army.  I  had,  however,  been  partly  educated  at  a 
German  college,  and  had  since  enjoyed  the  friendship  of  many 
Germans,  including  a  large  number  of  Prussian  officers. 
Lastly,  I  had  often  been  a  guest  at  the  officers'  mess  of 
various  Prussian  regiments."  "  That  is  all  very  well," 
said  Moltke,  "  but  it  is  not  a  sufficient  explanation.  The 
matter  remains  an  enigma  to  me." 

For  the  moment  I  was  overcome  by  a  painful  feeling  that 
the  incomparable  strategist,  who  in  his  time  had  successfully 
solved  so  many  mighty  problems,  should,  now  that  his  life  was 
drawing  to  an  end,  be  baffled  by  a  puzzle  of  so  trivial  a 
nature.  I  felt  a  sad  offender  to  have  dared,  though  uninten- 
tionally, to  have  put  so  eminent  a  man  in  a  quandary.  Thus 
driven  into  a  corner,  I  sought  to  solve  the  problem  by  telling 
him  that,  though  English  by  birth,  and  absolutely  ignorant  of 
the  German  language  in  my  youth,  I  had,  like  many  English- 
men, German  blood  in  my  veins.  Perhaps  this  fact,  whilst  it 
obviously  explained  my  sympathies  with  Germany,  might 
possibly  have  enabled  me  to  enter  into  the  spirit  of  the  moral 
significance  of  the  "  Nation  in  Arms."  "  No,"  replied  Count 
Moltke,  "  even  chat  would  be  insufficient.  I  am  still  unable  to 
understand  it." 

I  had  now  come  to  the  end  of  my  tether,  and  was  at  a  loss 
what  to  say.  Fortunately,  the  awkwardness  of  the  situation 
was  brought  to  an  end  by  Major  von  Moltke,   who  re-entered 

lOI 


GERMAN    MEMORIES 

the  room  and  laid  two  volumes  on  the  table  in  front  of  his 
uncle.  They  were  the  Field-Marshal's  own  works — the  one 
his  "  Ijctters  from  Russia,"  the  other  "  Trips  near  Rome  "  and 
"  Letters  from  Spain  and  Paris/"  Taking  a  pen  in  his 
delicately  shaped  hand,  he  wrote  my  name  in  the  top  right- 
hand  corner  of  each  volume,  and  under  it  the  following  laconic 
inscription:  Gr.  Moltke,  RM.  ("Count  Moltke,  Field-Marshal"). 
He  then  poured  some  sand  over  the  wet  ink,  and,  after  having 
carefully  drained  the  last  grain  back  into  the  castor,  handed 
both  volumes  to  me  with  a  few  kind  words.  Later  I  added 
the  date;  it  was  December  30,  1889. 

Moltke's  powers  of  silence  imposed  a  leaden  weight  on  his 
entourage,  for  as  a  rule  he  felt  little  or  no  inclination  for  talk- 
ing for  talking's  sake.  Yet  he  could  be  very  commmiicative, 
as  his  extensive  correspondence  with  his  own  family  amply 
proves.  Futile  talk,  and  more  especially  all  theatrical  pose,  were 
repugnant  to  him.  The  French,  as  a  nation,  were  his  particular 
aversion  in  this  respect.  He  remarked  of  them  :  "  They  mis- 
take words  for  deeds,  and  look  upon  an  orator  who  comes 
before  them  in  an  impressive  attitude  with  theatrical  aplomb 
as  a  national  hero."  The  German  "  does "  and  leaves  it  to 
others  to  discuss  his  deeds.  One  of  Moltke"'s  favourite  quota- 
tions was  from  the  writings  of  Clause witz  :  "  Everything  in 
war  is  simple,  but  simplicity  is  most  difficult."  If  ever  any  one 
on  this  earth  was  simple  and  unaffected,  Moltke  was. 

On  the  day  after  the  battle  of  Koniggriitz,  an  officer  of  high 
rank  in  the  Prussian  army  (I  am  told  it  was  Count  Blumenthal) 
suggested,  in  the  presence  of  the  King  and  his  staff,  that  the 
army  should  at  once  march  upon  Vienna.  "  What  would  you 
propose  to  do  when  you  get  there  ?  "  dryly  retorted  Moltke, 
and  the  suggestion  was  not  acted  upon. 

And  yet  this  great  silent  man  condescended  at  times  to  chat 
in  the  most  unrestrained  manner,  as  it  fell  to  my  lot  to 
experience,  though  his  conversation  was  of  the  Scotch  inter- 
rogatory type,  and  marked  with  Doric  brevity.  Never  a 
superfluous  word  marred  his  laconic  sentences,  which  consisted 
for  the  most  part  of  questions — some  of  a  technical  nature. 
102 


FIELD-MARSHAL    MOLTKE 

He  asked  me  who  would  command  the  British  forces  in  the 
event  of  a  war  ?  Would  it  be  Lord  Wolseley  ?  At  that  date 
the  policy  of  England  had  not  entered  the  circuit  of  "  Khaki,"" 
and  I  was  hardly  in  a  position  to  give  a  definite  answer. 
Without  in  the  least  depreciating  the  military  system  of  other 
countries,  the  Field-Marshal  continued  :  "  We  find  it  the  best 
plan  to  leave  the  administration  of  the  army  in  military 
hands."  He  was  obviously  well  acquainted  with  English 
military  institutions,  and  with  the  fact  that  with  us  a  civilian 
controls  the  army  under  the  supreme  power  of  Parliament. 
As  a  soldier  his  sympathies  were  on  the  side  of  his  profession. 
Thus  he  seemed  to  regret  that  political  wrangles  should  prevent 
a  uniform  organisation  of  the  French  army.  But  his  greatest 
impartiality — what  the  Germans  call  "  objectivity,"  for  with 
him  everything  was  considered  from  a  strictly  impersonal 
standpoint — was  displayed  in  what  he  had  to  say  about  the 
Russians.  "  It  is  only  natural  that  the  Russians  should  be 
jealous  of  the  German  element.  For,  though  they  are  deeply 
indebted  to  German  education  and  German  culture,  they  desire 
to  emancipate  themselves  from  foreign  influences  and  to  look 
after  their  own  affairs.  This  trait  is  deeply  rooted  in  human 
nature,  and  cannot  be  wondered  at."  It  seemed  to  me  as  if  the 
Field-Marshal  was  not  without  some  anxiety  caused  by  the 
ever- increasing  power  of  Russia ;  at  least  so  I  gathered  from 
what  he  said  in  reference  to  Russia's  relations  with  Sweden. 
He  expressed  the  opinion  that,  in  the  event  of  a  Continental 
war,  the  Swedish  army  was  not  strong  enough  to  retake  Fin- 
land, which  was  Scandinavian  by  tradition  and  civilisation. 
This  remark  of  Moltke's  has  since  been  recalled  to  my  mind 
by  the  violation  of  the  constitutional  privileges  of  Finland  by 
Russia,  and  the  initiation  of  an  energetic  Russian  policy  in  the 
Grand  Duchy  of  Finland  under  the  present  Tsar. 

Shortly  after  this  interview  I  again  enjoyed  the  privilege  of 
an  interview  with  the  Field- Marshal,  though  the  exact  date  of 
my  visit  has  escaped  my  memory.  On  the  other  hand,  the 
day  of  his  death  is  ever  present  to  my  mind,  for  on  the  wall 
of    my    study    hangs    a    large    engraved    portrait    of    Prince 

103 


GERMAN    MEMORIES 

Bismarck  with  the  date,  "April  24,  ISOl,"  and  the  Prince's 
signature,  in  his  own  handwriting,  in  the  margin.  On  that 
day  I  left  Friedrichsruh  in  the  afternoon,  and  reached  Berlin 
in  the  evening.  In  the  hall  of  the  Hotel  Sans-Souci  I  read 
on  a  placard  :  "  Field-Marshal  Count  Moltke  died  this  evening 
at  nine  o'clock."  Berlin  was  thrown  into  mourning  by  this 
announcement,  which  formed  the  topic  of  general  conversation 
for  days. 

In  spite  of  my  acquaintance  with  Moltke's  family,  an  indefi- 
nable feeling  deterred  me  from  hastening  to  the  quarters  of 
the  Great  General  Staff.  It  seemed  to  me  it  would  savour  of 
irreverence  to  intrude  upon  the  mighty  dead,  to  look  upon  the 
bier  as  if  it  were  a  pageant.  They  told  me  an  enormous  con- 
course of  people  was  pouring  into  the  Thiergarten.  Moltke's 
mortal  remains  were  lying  in  state,  and  the  public  were  being 
admitted  in  Indian  file.  In  the  end  1  turned  my  steps  in  the 
same  direction,  though  more  with  the  intention  of  watching 
the  crowd.  On  arriving  in  front  of  the  General  Staff  building, 
to  my  great  astonishment  I  saw  Major  von  Burt  come  out 
of  the  front  portal  bareheaded  and  hurry  up  to  me.  He  had 
caught  sight  of  me  from  a  window,  and  had  come  to  take  me 
up  through  a  side  entrance  to  the  mourning  family,  with  whom 
were  gathered  a  few  intimate  friends.  There  he  told  me  of 
several  incidents  connected  with  the  last  hours  of  the  Field- 
Marshal.  Among  these  was  the  extremely  interesting  item, 
which  I  published  at  the  time,  that  the  Field-Marshal,  who 
was  playing  whist  shortly  before  his  death,  won  all  thirteen 
tricks  in  the  very  last  game.  Overjoyed  at  his  success,  he 
called  out  to  his  opponents,  in  allusion  to  a  well-known  episode^ 

1  This  was  in  reference  to  a  well-known  incident  in  one  of  Frederick  the 
Great's  battles  in  the  Seven  Years  War.  The  King  had  occasion  to  find  fault 
with  a  certain  regiment  of  cavalry  in  the  piping  times  of  peace  and  upbraided 
them  on  parade  as  a  lot  of  incorrigible  drunkards.  The  colonel  of  the  regiment 
took  this  rebuke  to  his  men  so  much  to  heart  that  he  swore  on  his  honour  that 
he  would  never  draw  his  sword  again  in  the  King's  service.  When  shortly 
afterwards  the  Seven  Years  War  broke  out,  the  colonel  appealed  to  the  King, 
saying  that  he  was  ready  to  serve  him,  but  his  Majesty  could  not  possibly 
expect  him  to  break  his  word  of  honour.     "  Let  him  leave  his  sword  at  home 

104 


FIELD-MARSHAL    MOLTKE 

in  the  Seven  Years  War,  "  Was  segt  Er  min  zu  seine  Supers  ?  " 
("  What  has  he  got  to  say  now  to  his  drunken  fellows  ? ") 

We  then  entered  a  large  and  lofty  apartment,  lit  up  by 
many  candles  and  draped  in  black,  with  a  small  black  altar, 
on  which  stood  a  black  wooden  cross.  Moltke  lay  in  state. 
Behind  a  railing  a  never-ending  procession  passed  in  respectful 
silence.  Officers,  apparently  picked  men,  drawn  from  every 
branch  of  the  service — tall,  stately  figures,  as  beseemed  the 
descendants  of  a  race  of  giants  which  many  centuries  ago 
peopled  the  primeval  forests  of  Germany — guarded  the  bier 
with  drawn  swords.  Moltke's  head  reposed  on  a  white  pillow, 
the  skull  quite  bald,  his  aquiline  nose  thrown  into  prominence 
by  his  sunken  cheeks,  his  thin  firm  lips  now  closed  to  all 
Eternity — the  countenance  of  a  Caesar  in  death.  Clad  in  an 
unstarched  white  shirt,  holding  violets  and  laurels  in  his  folded 
hands,  he  slept  peacefully.     Semper  felix,  faustus  Aiigustus. 

and  take  a  stick  iu  his  hand,"  the  King  gruffly  replied.  The  story  goes  that 
at  the  next  battle  this  particular  regiment  distinguished  itself  beyond  all  others, 
and  in  passing  in  front  of  the  King,  lifting  on  high  the  regimental  colours 
captured  from  the  Austrians,  the  colonel  called  out :  "  What  does  he  say  now 
to  his  drunkards  / "  Whereupon  the  King  took  iifl'  his  hat  in  token  of 
admiration. 

1  The  following  incident  illustrates  Moltke's  simple  mode  of  life,  and  only 
came  to  my  knowledge  after  his  death.  A  member  of  the  Prussian  House  of 
Lords  was  staying  with  Moltke  at  Creisau  when  the  old  soldier,  then  about 
eighty  years  of  sige,  happened  to  expatiate  on  the  high  military  abilitiis  of 
King  Albert  of  Saxony,  who,  as  is  well  known,  greatly  distinguished  himself 
in  the  War  of  1870  as  Commander-in-Chief  of  the  Fourth  German  Army.  From 
Creisau  the  Prussian  nobleman  went  on  to  Dresden,  where  in  the  course  of  an 
audience  which  he  had  of  King  Albert  he  communicated  to  him  Moltke's  words 
of  appreciation.  The  King  was  much  gratified,  and  told  his  visitor  how  much 
he  valued  Moltke's  good  opinion.  "  Do  you  think,"  he  added,  "  that  the  Field- 
Marshal  would  object  if  I  were  to  pay  him  a  visit  ?  "  "  On  the  contrary,  Sir," 
the  other  replied,  "I  feel  quite  sure  that  he  would  consider  it  a  high  honour  to 
receive  you.  There  is  one  condition,  however,  which  I  would  venture  to 
suggest  your  Majesty  laying  down  beforehand — namely,  that  on  no  account  is 
he  to  make  any  change  in  his  domestic  arrangements  in  connection  with  your 
visit."  These  embodied  a  scale  of  household  expenditure  of  less  than  £4 
a  week,  even  when  visitors  were  staying  with  him. 


105 


J  CHAPTER  IX 

BERLIN,  1890-91 

I  SPENT  several  weeks  in  Berlin  in  the  winter  of  1890-91. 
Professor  Hans  Delbrueck  had  asked  me  to  become  a  con- 
tributor to  the  Preussische  Jahrbilcher,  and  at  his  house  or  by 
introduction  from  him  I  was  brought  into  contact  with  a 
number  of  distinguished  people.  Of  these  I  may  mention 
Professor  Rudolf  von  Gneist,  the  eminent  parliamentarian  and 
authority  on  jurisprudence  ;  Heinrich  von  Sybel,  the  historian  ; 
and  Count  Sholto  Douglas,  at  that  time  reputed  to  be  a  great 
friend  of  the  Emperor.  In  after  years,  when  I  again  happened 
to  be  in  Berlin,  I  met  on  different  occasions  at  Professor 
Delbrueck's  house, the  leading  cor?/j9Acei  of  the  Berlin  intellectual 
world,  among  them  the  national  economist.  Professor  Schmoller  ; 
the  theologian,  Professor  Harnack ;  the  ex-Jesuit,  Count 
Hoensbroeck  ;  Admiral  Tirpitz,  the  present  chief  of  the  German 
navy,  and  many  others.  I  also  brought  a  letter  of  introduction 
from  London  to  Baron  Georg  von  Bunsen,  the  well-known 
parliamentarian  and  friend  of  the  Emperor  Frederick. 

Professor  Delbrueck,  the  editor  of  the  Preussische  Jahr- 
biicher,  founded  by  Heinrich  von  Treitschke,  whom  he  suc- 
ceeded as  chief,  has  been  so  prominently  before  the  English 
public  of  late  that  a  few  data  concerning  him,  drawn  from 
personal  knowledge,  would  seem  to  be  apposite.  He  is  a 
genial  representative  of  a  class  which  has  rarely  exercised  any 
direct  political  influence  in  England,  but  which  is  very  much 
to  the  fore  in  Germany,  namely,  the  literary  Professor  whose 
hobby  is  politics.  Fixity  of  appointment  and  freedom  from 
pecuniary  cares  allow  them  to  devote  themselves  entirely  and 
whole-heartedly  to  intellectual  interests.  Professor  Delbrueck 
106 


BERLIN,    1890-91 

comes  of  a  family  which  has  already  produced  several 
men  distinguished  in  different  walks  of  life,  and  he  is  still 
further  identified  with  the  world  of  learning  by  his  marriage 
with  a  lady  who  is  a  descendant  of  Baron  Liebig.  After 
serving  through  the  war  of  1870-71,  being  promoted  officer 
after  the  battle  of  Gravelotte,  and  being  awarded  the  Iron 
Cross,  he  was  for  five  years  (1874-79)  tutor  of  Prince 
Waldemar,  the  fourth  son  of  the  Emperor  Frederick.  He 
subsequently  became  extraordinary,  or  honorary,  Professor  of 
History  at  the  University  of  Berlin  ;  he  has  long  since 
become  regular  Professor  of  History,  and  in  his  turn  has  filled 
the  honorary  position  of  Rector  at  the  same  University.  Pro- 
fessor Delbrueck  has  been  a  voluminous  writer,  his  favourite 
subject  being  military  history,  on  which  he  has  written  some 
important  works,  in  which  brilliance  of  style  is  combined  with 
scrupulous  conscientiousness  of  research.  He  has  also  pub- 
lished a  series  of  most  interesting  essays  on  English  subjects. 
Endowed  with  an  attractive  personality — a  handsome  and 
thoughtful  face  peering  from  beneath  his  broad-brimmed  black 
felt  hat — he  looks  more  the  artist  (which,  indeed,  he  is  as  a 
literary  craftsman)  than  a  bookworm.  He  is  ever  ready  to 
enter  into  good-natured  discussion  on  the  subjects  nearest  his 
heart,  as  well  as  to  draw  around  him  as  contributors  to 
the  Pre^issische  Jahrbiicher]  those  in  whom  he  detects  a 
kindred  bent  of  mind.  But,  even  when  vehemently  champion- 
ing what  he  believes  to  be  the  righteous  claims  of  his  country, 
I  have  never  known  him  to  utter  a  harsh  word  or  to  harbour 
an  ungenerous  thought  towards  an  opponent — in  itself  a 
virtue  calling  for  notice  in  latter-day  Germany.  To  think 
that  it  could  add  to  the  distinction  of  such  a  man  to  claim 
for  him,  as  has  been  repeatedly  done  in  the  English  Press, 
that  he  is  a  confidant  of  his  Sovereign,  is  to  mistake  the 
nature  of  his  position,  which  is  really  based  on  his  attainments, 
the  consideration  he  enjoys  at  the  hands  of  his  colleagues  and, 
above  all,  of  his  pupils,  those  who  draw  inspiration  from  him 
as  their  honoured  teacher. 

On    this    particular    occasion,    however,    it    was    at    Count 

107 


GERMAN    MEMORIES 

Douglas's  house    tliat  I   saw   most   German    notabilities  ;    for 
having  heard  from  Professor  Delbrueck  that  I  was  anxious  to 
extend  my  knowledge  of  German  affairs,  the  Count  had  invited 
me  to  come  to  Berlin  and  stay  there  as  his  guest.      I  did  not 
see  my  way  to  accept  this  generous  offer,  as  I  have  always 
preferred  the  freedom  of  an  hotel  when  staying  in  a  city  ;  but 
I  gladly  availed  myself  of  his  amiable  suggestion  to  bring  me 
into  contact  with  some  representative  people.      This  he  did  in 
a    most    kindly  spirit,  and   I   passed  many  pleasant  evenings 
under  the  Count's  hospitable  roof  in   the  society  of  his  family 
and  friends.      I  met  at  his  house  the  late  Herr  von  Botticher, 
Prussian  Minister  of  State  ;  Herr  von  Bodelschwingh,  well  known 
for  his  philanthropic  activity  ;  Herr  von  Berlepsch,  Minister  of 
Commerce ;     Dr.    Arendt,    a    parliamentarian   known   for    his 
advocacy    of    bimetallism ;     Franz    von     Rottenburg,^    Under 
Secretary  of  State ;  Dr.  Hinzpeter,  who  had  been  tutor  of  the 
present  Emperor ;    and  Dr.    Kopp,   Prince-Bishop  of  Breslau, 
Dr.    Kopp,    Cardinal    since    1893,    had    come    to    Berlin    in 
connection    with    the    School  /Conference.     He    had    been    an 
influential  and  conciliatory  intermediary  between  the  Pope  and 
the  Prussian  Government  in  re-establishinff  harmonious  relations 
between  the  latter  and  the  Curia   at   the  conclusion   of    the 
Kulturkampf^     and    was    thus    looked     upon    as    a    powerful 
supporter,    a  pillar  of  the  State,  and  made  much  of  on  all 
sides.       Even   the   venerable   Field-Marshal    Moltke  called   on 
him.      Dr.  Kopp's    career   is  a  striking  exemplification  of  the 
great  possibilities  opened  by  the  Catholic  Church  to    men  of 
exceptional   ability.      Beginning  life  as    a   telegraph  clerk,   he 
had    risen    to    one    of    the    highest    positions    in  the  Roman 
Catholic  hierarchy,  which  he  still  holds  to-day,  for  as  Prince- 
Bishop   of  Breslau   Dr.    Kopp's   diocese  extends  into   Austria, 
where    he   is  a   member   of  the   House   of  Lords   and   of  the 
Diet    of   Austrian    Silesia.       His    is    a    placid    temperament, 
showing  reserve  force,  yet  with  a  suavity  bespeaking  kindliness 
of  heart — an  impression  which  was  strengthened  in  the  course 
of  conversation.      There  was  a  peculiar  fascination  about  the 
1  See  Chapter  XIX. 

108 


BERLIN,    1890-91 

Prince-Bishop's  smile.  It  denoted—at  least  so  it  seemed  to 
me — a  calm  self-possession,  a  consciousness  that  he  owed  no 
allegiance  to  any  other  worldly  authority  than  that  of  which  it 
has  been  said  :  "  Qvi  mange  du  Pape  en  meurt.''''  If  I  had  not 
known  that  Dr.  Kopp  was  a  Prince  of  the  Church,  I  might 
have  taken  him,  with  his  firm  mouth  and  steady  gaze,  for 
one  of  those  refined  French  or  English  lawyer  types — the 
Buffets,  Dufaures,  or  Asquiths — men  of  iron  nerve,  the 
product  of  generations  of  civil  dignity  and  freedom.  Dr. 
Kopp  struck  me  as  a  truer  representative  of  freedom  of 
character  than  I  had  hitherto  met  in  Berlin,  much  more  than 
Generals  or,  indeed.  Chancellors  could  afford  to  own.  I 
thought  I  detected  something  in  his  manner  which  is  only 
possessed  by  men  whose  nervous  system  is  unaffected  by  the 
uncertainty  of  their  position.  I  also  noticed  that  he  was  a 
good  listener,  one  who  would  be  ready  to  give  ear  to  many 
arguments,  and  yet  sure  to  remain  absolutely  inflexible  in  his 
own  opinions  and  determination,  which  would  naturally  always 
harmonise  with  the  interests  of  the  great  power  of  which  he  is 
so  distinguished  a  representative. 

Dr.  Hinzpeter  had  been,  as  noted,  tutor  of  the  Emperor,  an 
appointment  which,  as  he  told  me,  he  owed  to  Sir  Robert 
Morier,  who  at  that  time  (1866)  was  English  Minister  at 
Darmstadt.  Like  Dr.  Kopp,  he  had  come  to  Berlin  in  connec- 
tion with  the  School  Conference.  At  that  particular  moment 
his  name  was  very  much  to  the  fore.  The  Emperor  had 
conferred  upon  him  the  high  dignity  of  Member  of  the 
Council  of  State,  and  he  had  besides  been  nominated  Chairman 
of  the  Committee  which  was  appointed  to  investigate  and 
carry  out  the  resolutions  of  the  School  Conference.  It  was 
even  whispered  that  Dr.  Hinzpeter  had  had  a  hand  in 
Bismarck's  fall.  Thus  it  was  quite  an  event  to  be  privileged 
to  meet  so  influential  a  personage — the  more  so  as,  feeling  the 
responsibilities  of  his  position,  as  he  told  me  himself,  he  was 
shy  of  meeting  strangers.  For  one  so  talked  about  Dr. 
Hinzpeter  was  a  singularly  simple  and  unaffected  person, 
as  also  was  Mrs.  Hinzpeter,  a  highly  cultivated  French  lady, 

109 


GERMAN    MEMORIES 

whose  acquaintance  I  was  subsequently  enabled  to  make  at 
Bielefeld.  This  impressed  me  all  the  more  as  I  had  noticed 
that  intimacy  with  the  great  on  the  part  of  philologists,  Pro- 
testant clergymen,  and  theologians  generally  exercised  a  strong 
hypnotising  effect  on  those  exposed  to  it.  Dr.  Hinzpeter  had 
taken  a  small  room  at  the  Hotel  Meinhardt,  since  demolished, 
and  his  whole  kit,  a  small  travelling-bag,  with  a  plain  wooden 
hair-brush  poiir  tout  potage  on  the  dressing-table,  reminded 
me  forcibly  of  one  of  the  schoolmasters  of  my  Dresden 
days. 

My  visit  to  Berlin  had  been  prompted  by  the  request  of  a 
London  publisher  to  write  something  authoritative  about 
Germany  since  Bismarck's  dismissal,  and  as  I  had  already 
written  a  book  dealing  with  Germany  in  a  friendly  spirit, 
Dr.  Hinzpeter  thought  that  I  might  be  able  to  render  good 
service  to  the  cause  of  truth  in  this  matter.  With  this 
purpose  in  view  I  had  several  conversations  with  him.  He 
also  invited  me  to  pay  him  a  visit  at  Bielefeld,  which  I 
subsequently  did  on  my  way  back  to  England.  In  common 
with  Count  Douglas,  he  was  most  anxious  that  the  peaceful 
intentions  of  the  Emperor  should  be  made  widely  known, 
and  I  was  favourably  impressed  by  his  single-mindedness  of 
purpose,  which  showed  itself  in  freedom  from  every  attempt  to 
mince  matters.  He  was  indignant  at  the  ill-natured  gossip 
which  had  been  current  about  the  Emperor's  private  life, 
which  he  assured  me  was  above  reproach.  He  was  most 
anxious  for  the  welfare  of  his  Imperial  pupil,  as  to  the 
direction  in  which  he  was  likely  to  develop,  and  as  to  what 
his  future  might  be.  This  frame  of  mind  in  itself  formed  a 
striking  contrast  to  the  paeans  of  adulatory  language  current 
in  other  quarters.  Dr.  Hinzpeter  feared  the  Emperor  might 
become  the  prey  of  flatterers,  of  a  type  of  people  for  whom 
the  Germans  have  the  term  of  Streber,  or  Byzantine. 
Mrs.  Hinzpeter  told  me  that  this  was  ever  in  her  husband's 
thoughts,  and  that  I  was  the  only  person  outside  his  own 
circle  of  intimate  friends  to  whom  he  had  ever  expressed 
himself  on  the  subject.  As  a  result  of  our  conversations 
110 


BERLIN,    1890-91 

I  made  some  notes  of  what  I  thought  might  interest  Enghsh 
readers,  but  I  ultimately  came  to  the  conclusion  that  any 
book  on  such  a  subject  would  be  premature  at  that  early 
stage  of  the  Emperor's  reign,  and  I  eventually  gave  up  the 
attempt.  All  that  I  need  mention  at  this  distance  of  time 
is  the  following  :  1  left  Dr.  Hinzpeter  with  the  impression 
that  he  considered  the  supreme  task  of  Germany  to  lie  in  the 
reconciliation  of  the  many  antagonisms  which  still  divided  the 
nation,  which,  though  politically  united  through  the  genius 
of  Bismarck,  was  still  very  far  from  what  it  might  become  as 
a  leader  of  civilisation.  Thus  it  was  not  so  much  the  expansion 
of  the  Empire  as  the  making  of  the  Fatherland  itself  more 
comfortable  {wohnlich)  than  it  had  hitherto  been  for  the  masses 
of  the  German  people  which  was  the  problem  calling  for  solution, 
in  the  spirit  of  John  Bright,  whose  aspirations  were  : 

"  Crowns,  coronets,  mitres,  pomp  of  war,  wide  colonies,  and  a 
huge  empire  are,  in  my  view,  trifles  light  as  air,  unless  with 
them  you  have  a  fair  share  of  comfort,  contentment,  and 
happiness  among  the  great  body  of  the  people ;  palaces, 
stately  mansions,  do  not  make  a  nation.  The  nation  in  every 
country  dwells  in  the  cottage,  and  unless  the  light  of  your 
Constitution  can  shine  there,  rely  upon  it  you  have  yet  to 
learn  the  duties  of  government."  ^ 

That  Dr.  Hinzpeter's  sentiments  must  have  been  somewhat  of 
this  character  is,  I  think,  evident  from  the  following  letter,  one 
of  several  which  he  wrote  to  me  in  English  shortly  afterwards  : 

"  Dear  Me.  Whitman, 

"  What  I  meant  is  this :  the  German  race  in  all  its 
different  tribes  entered  a  new  period  with  the  introduction  of 
the  Christian  Faith.  They  received  the  Christian  doctrine  in 
the  Roman  Catholic  form.  The  Roman  Catholic  Church 
brings  to  them  with  the  Christian  doctrine  the  whole  Roman 
civilisation,  from  the  leathern  shoes  to  the  speeches  of  Ovid 
and  the  philosophy  of  Aristotle.  Even  the  Roman  Civil 
Laws  are  forced  more  or  less  on  all  German  tribes. 

1  Sayings  of  John  Bright,  by  Cecil  Wedmore.     Headley  Brothers,  London. 

Ill 


GERMAN    MEMORIES 

"  The  Roman  Catholic  Church,  therefore,  reigns  with 
absolute  power  over  all  the  branches  of  national  life — private 
and  public.  The  German  race  spent  seven  to  eight  centuries 
in  devouring  and  assimilating  the  whole  Roman  civilisation 
brought  to  her  by  the  Roman  Catholic  Church.  These  cen- 
turies were  her  schooldays,  during  which  no  original  German 
idea  was  or  could  be  produced.  Such  production  could  only 
begin  with  the  emancipation  of  the  German  race  from  the 
bondage  of  the  Roman  Church. 

"  This  emancipation  of  the  German  mind  and  the  German 
life  could  only  be  effected  in  the  German  country  where  the 
bondage  was  the  strictest,  where  the  assimilation  of  Roman 
civilisation  through  the  nearest  connection  was  the  fullest,  and 
where  through  all  this  the  development  of  the  real  German 
spirit  and  nature  had  not  been  hindered,  but  favoured — that 
is,  the  centre  of  the  German  Empire  itself. 

"The  so-called  Reformation  of  the  sixteenth  century  was 
nothing  else  but  the  first  independent  step  of  the  German  mind 
in  the  world  of  ideas,  the  first  self-assertion  of  the  German 
intellectual  will,  and  it  required  great  energy,  with  a  high  degree 
of  independence  of  thought  and  character,  to  break  through  the 
powerful  tradition  of  centuries  in  order  to  make  this  first  step. 

"  Therefore,  only  people  in  whom  German  blood  predomi- 
nated followed  the  example.  Even  with  them  it  was  merely 
imitative,  and  resisted  the  reaction  into  which  every  country 
with  more  Latin  or  Polish  population  (though  at  first  carried 
along  with  others)  fell  sooner  or  later  back  under  the 
guardianship  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church. 

"  Now  the  solution  of  the  so-called  social  question  will  be 
— that  is  my  opinion — the  second  assertion  of  the  German 
mind  in  the  world  of  ideas.  It  will  require  the  same  degree 
of  independence  of  thought  and  will.  I  think  the  new 
German  Empire  has  been  created  for  this  purpose  and  this 
only,  no  other.   .   .   . 

"  Yours  truly, 
"  (Signed)  Dr.  Hinzpeter. 

"Bielefeld,  3/2/91." 
112 


BERLIN,    1890-91 

Two  years  afterwards  I  received  the  following  letter : 

"  Dear  Mr.   WnrriMAN, 

"  I  did  not  like  to  write  and  thank  you  before  I  had  found 
time  at  least  to  read  what  you  were  so  kind  as  to  send  me.  I 
hope  you  will  approve  of  my  reflections  and  pardon  my  other- 
wise unpardonable  silence.  And  now  that  I  have  read  it  I 
can  find  no  better  form  for  my  impressions  than  the  statement 
that  I  regret  more  than  ever  your  not  having  published  your 
last  book,  and  that  you  have  even  given  up  writing  about 
Germany  at  all.'^  I  understand  perfectly  well  how  for  the 
moment  the  temptation  to  do  so  cannot  be  strong,  but  I  hope 
you  will  live  to  see  times  more  congenial  to  you,  and  then 
paint  them  to  your  countrymen  in  order  to  enable  them  to 
appreciate  the  sayings  and  doing  of  their  nearest  cousins. 

"  For  my  own  part,  for  the  short  time  I  have  to  live,  I  shall 
always  be  happy,  very  happy,  to  meet  you  anyhow  and 
anywhere. 

"With  sincerest  regards, 

"  Yours  truly, 

"  (Signed)  Dr.  Hinzpeter. 

"  Berlin,  20/1/93." 

It  is  not  without  a  certain  significance  to  recall  the  atmo- 
sphere which  prevailed  in  high  circles  in  Berlin  at  that  particular 
time — the  first  winter  of  the  post-Bismarck  era.  The  Prince 
had  not  yet  started  the  campaign  of  open  hostility  to  his 
successor  which  was  to  burst  forth  with  such  vehemence  a  few 
months  later.  Thus  the  feeling  of  general  relief  which  had 
succeeded  his  dismissal  was  still  unalloyed  with  what  sub- 
sequently became  a  sentiment  of  malaise^  of  uncertainty  as  to 
what  might  take  place  from  one  day  to  another.  The  new 
brooms  were  busy  and  to  all  appearance  doing  their  work 
efficiently.  The  School  Conference  was  one  of  the  inward 
signs  of  their  ever-increasing  activity,   and  it  made  quite   a 

1  Reference  to  an  offer  which  I  had  received  from  an  English  publisher  to 
write  a  book  on  German  affairs  since  Bismarck's  dismissal,  and  my  final  decision 
not  to  publish  what  I  had  written. 

H  113 


GERMAN    MEMORIES 

stir  at  the  time.  The  problem  of  the  education  of  the 
young  has  attracted  some  of  the  greatest  of  human  minds ; 
in  modern  times  I  need  only  note  the  names  of  Pestalozzi, 
Jean-Jacques  Rousseau,  Kant,  Goethe,  and  Herbert  Spencer. 
Thousands  of  publications  are  devoted  to  the  discussion  of 
education  every  year  in  Germany.  All  this,  however,  was 
suddenly  held  to  be  inadequate,  even  grossly  defective.  Every- 
thing was  to  be  changed,  although  education  under  the  old 
regime  had  spread  the  renown  of  German  thoroughness 
all  over  the  world,  and  led  to  the  coining  of  the  phrase  that 
"  the  Prussian  schoolmaster  had  won  the  battle  of  Sadowa." 
A  queer  epoch  was  that  of  this  School  Conference,  and  some 
queer  fish  were  called  upon  to  take  part  in  it.  About  the  same 
time  Germany,  or  rather  Berlin,  was  declared  to  be  the  Hort 
des  Welt-Friedens,  the  arbiter,  the  guardian  of  the  peace  of 
the  world ;  but  people  were  not  informed  how  it  had  come 
about  that  upon  Berlin,  of  all  places,  and  not  London, 
Washington,  St.  Petersburg,  or  Rome,  had  devolved  the  role 
of  Dispenser  of  Universal  Peace  or  Harbinger  of  War.  The 
world  was  simply  asked  to  accept  it  as  a  dictum  that  such  was 
indeed  the  case  ;  and  the  satisfaction  over  this  rosy  aspect  of 
affairs  found  its  expression  in  a  "  delirium  of  delight,"  an 
"  orgy  of  ecstasy  ""  in  high  places,^  which  was  destined  to  last 
for  a  number  of  years. 

About  this  time  I  received  a  significant  letter  from  my 
friend.  Colonel  von  Burt,  already  repeatedly  mentioned  in 
these  pages,  the  contents  of  which  scarcely  tallied  with  an 
optimistic  estimate  of  the  situation.  He  urged  me  to  read 
that  section  of  Treitschke''s  "  Prussian  History ""  which  deals 
with  the  reign  of  Frederick  William  IV.  He  said  :  "  If  you 
read  it  carefully  you  will  find  certain  parallels  with  the  present 
situation  which  must  awaken  the  fear  that  Germany  is  in  for 

1  It  might  be  considered  characteristic  of  this  particular  time,  immediately 
following  the  dismissal  of  Bismarck,  that  one  often  met  in  conversation  the 
quotation  of  Homer's  huckneyed  tag,  "Oi}/c  dyaSdv  iru'KvKoipavlT],  eU  Kolpavos 
l(TTw."  People  were  busy  drawing  comparisons  between  the  first  years  of 
the  reign  of  the  Great  Elector,  of  Frederick  the  Great,  and  the  present. 

114 


BERLIN,    1890-91 

another  such  period  of  political  vacillation  and  unsteadiness  of 
aim  as  marked  that  unfortunate  monarch's  reign."  This  was 
twenty-two  years  ago. 

Before  I  left  Berlin  Herr  von  Botticher  sent  me  as  a  parting 
memento  a  most  interesting  photograph  of  himself  and 
Bismarck  taken  together  in  the  old  Reichstag  lobby.  Herr 
von  Botticher  is  standing  beside  Bismarck,  who  is  seated  on 
a  bench  immediately  beneath  a  medallion  portrait  of  the 
patriotic  writer,  Paul  Pfizer,  under  which  the  following 
quotation  from  his  writings  is  inscribed  : 

Das  heiligste  Recht  einer  Nation  ist  das, 

Als  solche  zu  bestehen  und  anerkannt  zu  werden.! 

1  "  The  most  sacred  right  of  a  nation  is  to  subsist  and  be  recognised  as  such." 


115 


CHAPTER  X 

PRINCE    BISMARCK 

My  acquaintance  with  Prince  Bismarck  began  in  1891, 
and  dates  therefore  from  a  time  when  he  was  already  in 
retirement.  In  January  of  that  year  I  was  on  the  point  of 
leaving  Berlin  when  I  received  a  telegram  from  Baroness 
Deichmann,  of  London,  an  intimate  friend  of  the  Bismarck 
family.  At  her  suggestion  I  sent  the  Prince  a  copy  of  my 
book,  "  Imperial  Germany,"  and  in  return  received  an  invita- 
tion to  come  to  Friedrichsruh.  My  first  visit  ended  with  a 
kindly  request  to  come  again  ;  my  second  brought  the  expres- 
sion of  a  hope  that  I  should  never  return  to  Germany  without 
knocking  at  the  Schloss  door  of  Friedrichsruh.  Thus  between 
the  years  1891-98  I  was  the  guest  of  Prince  Bismarck  and 
his  family  on  nine  or  ten  occasions.  On  July  30,  1898,  I 
started  for  Friedrichsruh  in  the  hope  of  seeing  him  once 
more,  only  to  find  on  my  arrival  that  he  had  passed  away 
during  the  preceding  night. 

These  experiences  are  told  in  detail  in  my  "  Reminis- 
cences of  Prince  Bismarck."^  Here  it  is  only  necessary  to 
treat  of  my  personal  impressions  of  the  man  who  made 
modern  Germany  as  he  was  when  resting  from  toil  and  a 
spectator  of  the  working  of  the  great  political  machine  he 
had  created. 

A  first  visit  to  Friedrichsruh  was  well  calculated  to  impress 
the  traveller  with  the  importance  of  Prince  Bismarck.  The 
express  trains  from  Berlin  to  Hamburg  tore  through  the  little 
country  station,  except  when  they  carried  anybody  on  a  visit 
to  the  Prince  at  his  personal  invitation.  Then  they  stopped, 
1  J.  Murray,  London,  1902. 

116 


PRINCE    BISMARCK 

and  many  were  the  heads  thrust  through  the  carriage  windows 
to  learn  who  was  thus  honoured.  When  I  had  descended  and 
handed  my  bag  to  a  servant,  who  waited  on  the  platform,  I 
was  conducted  to  a  carriage  ;  but  before  I  could  enter  it  two 
tall,  imposing-looking  men  approached  down  the  road,  and 
a  minute  later  Prince  Bismarck  and  his  son,  Count  Herbert 
Bismarck,  were  bidding  me  welcome  in  perfect  English.  The 
carriage  went  off  with  my  baggage,  while  we  walked  on 
together  by  road  to  the  Schloss,  which  stands  but  a  short 
distance  from  the  station. 

The   Prince  wore  the  familiar  black  felt  hat  and  a  double- 
breasted  black  frock-coat.      He  looked  more  robust  than  when 
I  had  last  seen  him  eleven  years  before  on   the  way  to  Kissin- 
gen,  alighting  from   a  railway  carriage.     Then  he  stooped  as 
he   walked  with  the  support  of  a   stick.      His  complexion  in 
particular  had  a  rosy  freshness.      An  elderly,  military-looking 
man,   whose   erect  gait  told   of  many  years   passed    in   active 
service,   was  walking  by  my  side  apparently  in   the   best   of 
health  and  spirits.      During  the  last  forty  years  the  world  has 
been    made  acquainted,    by   painting  and    photography,    with 
the    features    of  Bismarck.     The    portraits    by    Lenbach   are 
familiar  enough,  and  among  the  photographs  I  am  disposed  to 
give   the    preference    to   a  profile  reproduced   from    a    Berlin 
picture  in  this  volume.      This    gives  neither   the  breadth  of 
the    countenance  nor  the  expression   of  the  eyes,   but   in   no 
other  are   the  strength  and  symmetry  of  the  countenance  so 
well  shown,  nor  does  one  find  elsewhere  so  good  a  representa- 
tion of  the  full  and  perfect  curve  from  the  front  to  the  back 
of    the   head,   which   ends  with    a    bold    sweep   to   the   neck. 
The  shaggy,  beetling  brow  shelters  the  glance  of  the  piercing 
eyes.      The   large    but  well-shaped  ears    lie  back  against  the 
skull  in  an  almost  perpendicular  line,  which  gives  a  certain 
truculence   to   them.      Bismarck's   ears   were   perfectly   poised. 
Nose  and  chin  were  almost  parallel  in   outline,  their  contour 
being  only  broken  by  the  curve  of  the  moustache.    The  Prince's 
ears  had   something  of  what  the   Germans,  in   their  sporting 
phraseology,  call  Lauscher  (listeners) — the  ears   of    the  deer 

117 


GERMAN    MEMORIES 

of  the  forest.  The  German  Michel  in  the  past  had  been 
sadly  deficient  in  the  sense  of  hearing.  He  was  often  deaf 
to  what  was  going  on  in  the  world  until  foreign  horsemen 
let  their  steeds  graze  loose  on  German  fields.  Here  was  a 
man  whose  hearing  was  so  acute  that,  to  quote  an  old 
German  saying  :   "  He  could  hear  the  grass  grow," 

Such  was  Bismarck  as  I  saw  him  on  my  first  visit,  although 
one  gathered  one's  impressions  of  him  more  slowly  in  the  course 
of  repeated  visits.  When  he  talked  the  firm  lines  of  the 
mouth  showed  beneath  the  moustache,  revealing  a  set  of  small, 
regular  teeth,  which  he  retained  almost  intact  to  the  last. 
Bismarck's  hands  might  have  been  those  of  a  man  of  fifty,  so 
little  did  they  bear  the  marks  of  age.  Tall  as  he  was,  his  feet 
were  small ;  only  among  Circassians  have  I  seen  such  a  delicate 
foot  carrying  so  weighty  a  man.  One  day  at  Kissingen,  in 
1892,  when  I  was  walking  with  him,  he  complained  of 
something  having  got  into  his  boot.  He  sat  down  on  the 
bench  and  took  off  one  of  the  high-topped  Wellington  boots 
which  he  always  wore,  and  I  found  myself  wondering  at  the 
extreme  smallness  of  a  foot  in  which  more  than  seventy  years 
of  boot-wearing  had  produced  no  alteration  of  the  original 
shape.  When  he  was  not  in  uniform,  or  at  Varzin,  where  he 
sometimes  wore  a  grey-green  shooting-jacket  and  a  cap  of  the 
same  material  with  lappets  and  ribbon  to  let  down  and  tie 
over  the  ears  in  cold  weather,  he  donned  the  conventional 
double-breasted  black  frock-coat,  together  with  a  black 
waistcoat,  black  trousers,  and  a  white  or  cream-coloured  scarf 
or  cravat,  apparently  going  twice  round  the  neck — a  dress 
much  like  that  peculiar  to  German  Protestant  clergymen. 
Evening  dress  was  worn  in  his  family  only  once  a  year — on 
his  birthday.  New-fangled  ideas  of  attire  and  adornment 
were  never  to  his  liking.  Extreme  simplicity  of  dress,  as  of 
speech,  was  second  nature  with  him.  He  always  looked 
extremely  neat.  His  clean-shaven  face  (shaving  was  a  func- 
tion he  performed  himself  down  to  his  last  days),  in  addition 
to  his  rosy  complexion,  gave  him  a  peculiarly  tidy  and  healthy 
look.  Next  to  his  skin  he  wore  an  unstarched  white  linen 
118 


PRINCE    BISMARCK 

shirt,  no  flannel  or  undervest  of  any  kind.  His  physician, 
Dr.  Schweninger,  did  not  approve  of  flannel  underclothing. 
In  January  1892,  on  a  bitterly  cold  day,  I  accompanied 
Prince  Bismarck  in  a  sleigh  drive  near  Friedrichsruh.  I 
noticed  that  where  his  fur  was  open  in  front  he  had  nothing 
but  a  linen  shirt  between  the  bare  skin  and  a  biting  easterly 
wind.  Nevertheless  he  told  me  that  I  was  too  thinly  clad, 
and,  before  starting,  insisted  on  my  putting  one  of  his  thick 
overcoats  over  my  own. 

Biographers  have  been  prone  to  dwell  on  Bismarck's 
physical  strength,  and  he  has  been  caricatured  as  the  "  strong 
man  ^  of  the  circus.  So  far  as  power  of  sinew,  enormous 
vitality,  abnormal  capacity  for  work,  and  powers  of  digestion 
go,  Bismarck  was  undoubtedly  a  very  strong  man.  But  one's 
impression  was  not  of  strength,  but  rather  of  the  symmetry  of 
his  figure.  As  Schweninger  said  one  day :  "  Strength  is  a 
relative  term  ;  balance — the  harmony  of  every  organ — is  the 
principal  thing  and  the  real  test  of  health.  We  are  only  as 
strong  as  the  weakest  of  our  vital  organs."  He  might  have 
been  thinking,  as  he  spoke,  of  the  Prince,  whose  tall,  broad- 
shouldered  form  had  nothing  of  the  massiveness  of  the 
"  strong  man "  of  the  circus,  but  suggested  rather  the  force 
and  endurance  of  the  graceful  athlete. 

Bismarck's  voice  has  been  described  as  weak.  That  it  cer- 
tainly was  not.  It  was  neither  gutturally  deep  nor  loud,  but  it 
carried  far — the  voice  of  a  gentleman,  refined  and  sympathetic. 
In  public  he  addressed  his  hearers  as  if  they  had  been  at  table 
with  him,  without  any  attempt  at  elocution.  A  loud  voice, 
however  carefully  trained,  would  not  have  been  consonant  with 
the  refinement  of  the  man,  just  as  rhetorical  effect  would  have 
seemed  strange  to  his  character.  But  without  any  of  the  arts 
of  the  orator  he  could  move  a  German  audience  to  tears.  It 
was  difficult,  indeed,  to  reconcile  his  actual  manner  with  the 
stories  that  have  been  told  of  his  blunt  and  ungenerous  way 
of  expressing  his  likes  and  dislikes  when  dealing  with 
opponents.  It  stands  to  reason  that  a  man,  as  he  was,  of 
extraordinary   energy   added   to   extreme   nervous  irritability, 

119 


GERMAN    ]\I  EMORIES 

engaged  all  his  life  in  asserting  his  own  will  against  others, 
must  have  had  moments  when  the  fortiter  in  re  was  not  too 
harmoniously  blended  with  the  sunviter  in  niodo.  Nevertheless 
it  is  not  easy  to  understand  how  stories  have  obtained  credence 
of  the  "  roughness  "  of  one  whose  most  marked  characteristics 
in  private  life  were  courtesy  and  consideration  for  others. 

Lenbach  told  me — and  there  was  nobody  better  informed 
than  he — that  during  all  the  time  he  had  known  Bismarck, 
nearly  twenty  years,  he  only  remembered  one  solitary  occasion 
on  which  he  had  heard  him  speak  sharply,  let  alone  say  an 
unkind  word  to  any  one,  A  manservant  on  leaving  the  room 
had  carelessly  slammed  the  door.  This  had  evidently  jarred 
on  Bismarck''s  nerves,  for  he  rang  the  bell,  and  when  the  man 
appeared  told  him  in  a  curt  tone  that  he  was  to  leave  at  the 
end  of  the  month.  About  a  quarter  of  an  hour  afterwards 
he  rang  the  bell  again,  and  said  in  a  mollified  voice,  "  You 
may  stay."     That  was  all. 

There  is  overwhelming  testimony  to-day  to  Prince  Bismarck''s 
charm  of  manner,  in  the  fascination  he  exercised  over  those 
with  whom  he  came  in  contact — not  merely  during  his  latter 
years,  but  at  every  period  of  his  life.^ 

I  was  repeatedly  a  witness  of  the  Prince"'s  bearing  towards 
ladies,  and  it  has  remained  in  my  memory  as  perfect.  It  was 
marked  by  courtesy  to  young  and  old  alike,  and  of  course 
entirely  free  from  that  offensive  exaggeration  of  verbiage  and 
manner — notably  the  effusive  kissing  of  a  lady''s  hand  on  every 
occasion — which  marks  the  German  parvenu  of  to-day,  and  which 
is  not  a  German  custom  at  all,  but  an  awkward  imitation  of 
the  Viennese  "  smart  set."  With  Bismarck  it  was  the  deference 
of  the  well-bred  man  towards  the  other  sex  regardless  of  age  or 
worldly  station  ;  it  was  part  of  what  he  would  have  called  his 
nursery  training. 

1  In  18G4  the  present  King  of  Roumania,  then  Prince  Charles  of  Hohen- 
zoUern,  wrote  to  his  father  :  "  Bismarck  is  positively  irresistible  in  social 
intercourse."  This  opinion,  although  that  of  a  j'oung  man,  is  none  the  less 
remarkable  in  view  of  the  fact  that  both  Prince  Charles  and  his  father  were 
strong  political  opponents  of  Herr  von  Bismarck  at  the  time. 

120 


PRINCE    BISMARCK 

As  I  knew  him  towards  the  end  of  his  Hfe  his  manner  was 
softened  by  the  repose  of  age,  giving  him  an  indefinable 
gentleness.  I  never  heard  him  express  an  opinion  which  could 
be  construed  as  conveying  either  an  intense  like  or  dislike. 
Bismarck  cared  little  for  titles  or  distinctions  which  kings 
or  emperors  can  give.  His  wish  was  for  intercourse  with  what 
the  Germans  call  "  natural  men,"  and  in  them  he  declared 
that  he  discovered  aristocratic  qualities  which  are  now  and 
then  lacking  in  the  "  high-born.*"'  He  was  entirely  free  from 
that  class  prejudice  Avhich  plays  so  formidable  a  part  in 
German  social  life.  Yet  he  had  that  social  pride  which 
upheld  him  in  many  a  situation.  Only  those  who  knew 
the  Prince  well  could  understand  the  full  meaning  of  his  well- 
known  retort  upon  his  parliamentary  adversary,  Eugen 
Richter,  when  he  told  the  latter  that  his  own  education  for- 
bade him  replying  to  certain  offensive  diatribes.  Bismarck 
did  not  mean  by  "  education  "  his  knowledge  of  books,  nor  his 
qualifications  as  a  nobleman  or  as  an  officer,  but  his  early 
training.  He  meant  the  "  schooling  of  the  nursery,"  the 
cultivation  of  "  tact  of  the  heart,"  by  which  he  intended  to 
convey  that  he  deemed  Richter,  in  spite  of  his  great  intellectual 
accomplishments,  inferior  to  a  Bavarian  peasant  or  a  Russian 
moiijik.  That  to  which  he  attached  great  value  was  the 
record  of  his  family,  which  had  served  the  State  with  distinc- 
tion for  generations.  This  was  natural  enough  in  a  man  who 
belonged  by  birth  to  a  class  which  has  always  witnessed  the 
drama  of  life  from  the  stage  box.  But  birth  alone  was  at  no 
time  more  than  a  passport  to  his  consideration.  He  demanded 
individuality  of  character  in  those  who  were  to  be  numbered 
among  his  friends. 

When  first  I  was  entertained  at  Friedrichsruh  Prince 
Bismarck  had  been  out  of  office  exactly  thirteen  months,  and 
had  apparently  become  reconciled  to  his  retirement.  To  the 
superficial  observer  his  frame  of  mind,  like  his  outward  appear- 
ance, was  that  of  a  country  gentleman  of  distinction,  who  had 
once  been  actively  engaged  in  politics — a  period  he  now  looked 
back  upon  as   a  nightmare,  peopled  by  memories  of  treachery, 

121 


GERMAN    MEMORIES 

duplicity,  and  ingratitude.  Only  gradually,  in  consequence  of 
remarks  dropped  here  and  there,  either  by  Bismarck  himself  or 
others  near  to  him,  was  a  visitor,  not  knowing  the  facts,  able  to 
form  any  idea  of  what  had  gone  before  and  what  was  still  raging 
in  that  most  sensitive  heart.  He  talked  so  modestly  of  his 
own  achievements  that  it  would  be  difficult  to  realise  the  great- 
ness of  what  he  had  done.  One  of  his  favourite  sayings  was  : 
"  You  cannot  regulate  a  current,  much  less  attempt  to  go 
against  it ;  at  most  you  may  succeed  in  steering  carefully  with 
it."  So  he  looked  upon  his  success  as  a  statesman  as  less  the 
outcome  of  genius  than  of  that  common  sense  which  sees 
opportunities  and  avails  itself  of  them. 

At  his  house  one  met  neighbours  for  whom  he  had  very 
kindly  feelings,  and  whom  he  was  pleased  to  see  there,  but 
with  whom  he  might  not  exchange  three  sentences  in  the  course 
of  the  year.  For  the  typical  Junker,  with  his  strong  caste 
pride  and  caste  prejudices,  Bismarck  had  as  little  sympathy  as 
for  the  type  which  Napoleon  at  St.  Helena  termed  "  anes  par 
droit  d'keredite.''''  Bismarck's  intellect  no  less  than  his  heart, 
his  sense  of  "  fairness  " — a  favourite  English  expresi?ion  of  his — 
revolted  against   indiscriminate   malevolence  levelled  at  a  class, 

\  v/xhus,  when  somebody  alluded  contemptuously  in  his  presence  to 
^^r\j  Lord  Beaconsfield  as  a  Jew,  Bismarck   retorted  :   "  Yes,  but  a 

^'       refined  Jew."" 

Doubtless  he  had  his  preferences  and  his  antipathies, 
but  they  were  rarely  the  outcome  of  prejudice.  They  were 
invariably  the  result  of  long  observation  and  experience. 
Towards  two  classes  he  felt  a  strong  antipathy — clerics  and 
bureaucrats.  But  here  too  there  was  no  prejudice  against 
individuals.  His  lifelong  experience  of  both  these  types  had 
given  him  a  distaste  for  them  in  the  mass,  but  he  numbered 
personal  friends  both  among  clergymen  and  privy  councillors. 

Rural  in  his  tastes,  the  Prince  was  fond  of  identifying  himself 
with  the  class  of  country  gentlemen.  He  had  the  instincts  of 
the  squire,  but  he  certainly  never  deserved  the  taunt,  levelled 
at  him  by  the  untitled  German  middle  classes,  that  he  was 
a  Junker  at  heart.  To  talk  of  Bismarck  as  one  who  despised 
122 


PRINCE    BISMARCK 

his  fellow  creatures  or  was  lacking  in  sympathy  with  them  is 
sheer  nonsense.  I  have  seen  him  genuinely  concerned  at  the 
sick  look  of  a  labouring  man  whom  he  had  casually  met. 
Bismarck's  habitual  frame  of  mind  might  be  one  of  indifference, 
as  it  doubtless  was,  but  his  heart  was  continually  at  war  with 
his  reasoning  faculties ;  and  when  circumstances  were  sym- 
pathetic his  heart  carried  the  day,  for  it  contained  a  deep  well 
of  pity.  It  responded  readily  to  an  appeal  of  friendship,  and, 
above  all,  to  a  sentiment  of  chivalry  and  devotion.  Hatred 
and  the  exertion  of  hating  which  politics  brought  in  their 
train  were  repellent  to  him  and  affected  him  physically. 
Sympathy  gave  play  to  his  humour,  and  restored  him  to  health. 

Herr  von  Keudell,  in  his  "  Reminiscences,"  attributes  to 
Prince  Bismarck  a  deep  interest  in  music.  I  do  not  think 
music  appealed  much  to  him.  His  mental  moods  were  not 
influenced  by  it.  Incident  or  a  bit  of  nature  appealed  to 
him.  His  bent  was  dramatic,  not  lyric.  He  might  write  to 
his  wife  in  a  poetical  strain,  but  the  descriptive  dwarfed  the 
sentimental. 

Music  acted  on  him  more  as  a  reminiscence,  as  the  sound  of 
the  post-horn  might  recall  to  us  the  memory  of  a  certain 
journey.  E/rlebnisse — the  memory  of  an  incident  he  had  lived 
through — not  music,  "  put  his  feelings  in  motion."  Student 
songs  which  recalled  happy  days  of  youth  appealed  to  him 
far  more  than  a  symphony  of  Beethoven.  I  have  heard  him, 
when  reminiscent  of  an  evening,  repeating  his  favourite  songs  of 
student  days,  and  taking  great  delight  in  their  drollery. 

No  man  could  have  had  less  taste  for  dogmatical  discussions 
than  Bismarck.  Dogmatism  was  hateful  to  him  ;  he  loathed 
the  arrogance  of  the  proselyte  and  every  other  form  of 
arrogance  and  intolerance  as  vulgar  and  irreverent.  His  was 
essentially  a  religious  nature.  A  deep  sense  of  reverence,  in 
face  of  thCemgnias  of  the  universe,  was  at  the  root  of  his 
religious  feeling.  On  one  occasion  he  expressed  himself,  in  my 
presence,  with  regard  to  the  theory  of  metempsychosis,  in 
which  Count  Moltke  was  also  deeply  interested.  With 
Bismarck  it   may  have   been  only  a  fleeting    thought,  but  what 

123 


GERMAN    MEMORIES 

he  said  on  the  subject  was  characteristic.  "  If  I  had  to  choose 
the  form  in  which  I  would  prefer  to  live  again,"  he  said,  "  I 
am  not  so  sure  that  I  should  not  like  to  be  an  ant.  You  see," 
he  added,  "  that  little  insect  lives  under  conditions  of  perfect 
political  organisation.  Every  ant  is  obliged  to  work — to  lead 
a  useful  life  ;  every  one  is  industrious,  there  is  perfect  subordi- 
nation, discipline,  and  order.     They  are  happy,  for  they  work." 

The  Prince  did  not  trouble  himself  about  the  spiritual  welfare 
of  other  people.  He  was  content  to  let  them  take  their  chance 
in  the  realm  of  Frederick  the  Great,  where  everybody  is 
supposed  to  obtain  salvation,  in  his  own  way.  A  certain 
dispassionate,  philosophic  calm  was  noticeable  in  him  whenever 
the  dead  were  mentioned  in  his  presence,  even  when  they  were 
those  for  whom  he  had  entertained  a  feeling  of  attachment 
when  alive.  Conventional  expressions  of  sympathy  rarely 
escaped  his  lips.  He  would  speak  of  the  dead,  as  of  his  friend 
Motley,  for  instance,  to  whom  he  was  sincerely  attached,  by 
recalling  some  quaint  incident  of  their  joint  youth,  but  more 
in  a  jocular,  sympathetic  manner,  entirely  free  from  the  sad 
thought  that  the  old  friend  was  long  gone.  Death  in  itself 
was  to  him  only  a  natural  incident,  and  the  conventional 
phrases  about  so  inevitable  a  matter  were  repugnant  to  him. 
That  may  have  been,  in  some  degree,  due  to  the  circumstance 
that  Bismarck's  life  was  singularly  free  from  the  misfortune 
common  to  most  men — that  of  prematurely  losing  those  near 
and  dear  to  him.  He  never  lost  a  child,  and  his  sister.  Baroness 
von  Arnim,  survived  him. 

During  the  last  months  of  his  life  Bismarck  employed  much 
of  his  time  in  reading.  He  always  had  a  strong  partiality  for 
everything  appertaining  to  the  history  of  the  First  Napoleon, 
and  read  with  avidity  any  books  dealing  with  the  great 
Corsican's  career.  He  knew  General  Marbofs  "  Memoirs  "  and 
Marshal  Marmont's  "  Reminiscences,"  both  of  which  interested 
him  deeply.  Zola's  works  also  attracted  him.  He  read 
"Le  Debacle,"  "Rome,"  "  Lourdes,"  and  "Paris"  one  after 
the  other,  but  was  somewhat  disappointed  with  the  last  three. 
"  Rome,"  he  said,  reminded  him  of  a  traveller's  guide-book. 
124 


PRINCE    BISMARCK 

"  Le  Debacle"  was  more  to  his  liking.  But  what  more  par- 
ticularly struck  him  was  the  fearless  manner  in  which  Zola 
told  hard  truths  of  his  countrymen.  Bismarck  expressed  him- 
self to  the  effect  that  after  reading  "  Le  Debacle  "  he  was  not  at 
all  surprised  that  the  French  were  so  angry  with  the  author, 
for  he  had  committed  the  unpardonable  sin  of  telling  them 
the  truth. 

So  much  has  been  made  of  Bismarck's  supposed  antagonism 
towards,  not  to  say  dislike  of,  England  that  a  few  words  on  this 
subject  may  well  find  their  place  here.  Of  course,  nobody  would 
expect  a  German  statesman  to  allow  the  interests  of  his  own 
country  to  be  influenced  by  his  personal  likes  or  dislikes  ;  but, 
as  a  matter  of  fact,  Bismarck  liked  well-bred  English  people,  and, 
of  far  greater  moment,  considered  the  best  interests  of  his  own 
country  to  be  easily  reconcilable  with  those  of  England.  This 
statement  can  be  corroborated  by  many  passages  in  his  own 
speeches  and  reported  conversations,  and  I  challenge  anybody 
to  produce  a  single  passage  in  either  which  would  justify  an 
assumption  to  the  contrary.  Indeed,  I  am  not  conscious  of 
exaggeration  when  I  state  my  firm  belief  that  Bismarck  would 
have  welcomed  a  friendly  understanding  with  England  more 
than  with  any  other  country  in  the  world.  I  know  for  a 
positive  fact  that  Bismarck's  final  verbal  instructions  to 
German  officials,  such  as  consuls  and  diplomatic  agents  to 
Egypt  and  India,  invariably  culminated  in  the  words  :  "  Do 
all  you  can  to  obtain  the  goodwill  of  the  English.  You 
need  not  even  use  a  cypher  in  telegraphing,  for  we  have 
nothing  to  conceal  from  them."  It  would  be  madness  for 
us  to  quarrel  with  England  or  she  with  us.  How  it  has  hap- 
pened that  a  contrary  impression  has  gained  ground,  that 
the  present  unsatisfactory  state  of  affairs  has  developed,  and 
that  it  has  been  partly  ascribed  to  Bismarckian  traditions — 
this  may  form  the  subject  of  future  treatment ;  it  is  too 
broad  a   question   to   be   discussed  here. 

Interesting  as  was  Bismarck  as  an  individual,  those  who 
were  brought  into  contact  with  him  could  not  avoid  realising 
that  he  counted  for  more  than  a  great  personality.      He  stood 

125 


GERMAN    MEMORIES 

too  high,  too  remote  from  a  casual  visitor  to  inspire  affection. 
Affection  demands  at  least  a  semblance  of  reciprocity,  and  one 
felt  that,  with  all  his  courtesy  and  kindness,  the  Prince's  inter- 
ests were  far  away,  beyond  the  reach  of  lesser  mortals.  His 
thoughts  were  engrossed  by  those  elements  which  he  was  wont 
to  describe  as  the  "  imponderabilities  ^  of  life.  According  to 
the  teaching  of  St.  Paul,  that  which  is  visible  shall  pass  away, 
but  that  which  is  invisible  is  eternal.  To  some  of  Prince 
Bismarck's  admirers,  he  himself  represented  a  portion  of  that 
which  is  invisible— the  imponderable  sincerity,  the  veracity  of 
an  age  much  of  which  was  laid  in  the  grave  along  with  him. 

Nearly  five  years  after  his  death  (March  28,  1903)  I 
received  a  letter  from  Professor  Goldwin  Smith  which  con- 
tained the  following  pregnant  reference  to  Bismarck  : 

"  The  characters  of  the  iron  kind,  incarnations  of  military 
force,  are  not  those  on  which  as  a  rule  I  look  with  the 
greatest  of  pleasure.  But  there  are  occasions  on  which  they 
are  indispensable  to  burst  a  way  through  obstacles  such  as 
would  otherwise  be  fatal  to  the  progress  of  humanity.  Such 
an  occasion  it  was  that  called  forth  Bismarck,  and  I  do  not 
doubt  that,  whatever  detractions  may  be  made,  the  restorer  of 
German  unity  and  its  defender  against  the  jealousy  of  France 
will  be  crowned  with  the  gratitude  of  history." 


126 


CHAPTER  XI 

LENBACH 

During  a  stay  in  Vienna  in  September  1891,  I  received  a 
letter  from  Count  Herbert  Bismarck,  at  Varzin,  inviting  me 
in  his  parents'"  name  to  pay  them  a  visit  there.  He  said  that, 
though  he  himself  would  unfortunately  be  absent,  I  should  be 
amply  compensated  by  meeting  the  celebrated  painter,  Franz 
von  Lenbach. 

I  arrived  at  Varzin  in  the  evening,  just  in  time  for  dinner, 
at  which  Lenbach  was  seated  beside  Prince  Bismarck,  with 
whom,  as  I  could  see,  he  was  on  terms  of  close  intimacy.  The 
impression  he  made  upon  me  was  of  so  sympathetic  a  nature 
that  it  was  with  keen  regret  that  I  learnt  he  intended  to  leave 
early  the  next  morning.  I  had  retired  for  the  night  when 
some  one  knocked  at  my  door  ;  it  was  Lenbach,  carrying  a 
sheet  of  cardboard  in  his  hand.  It  was  apparently  the  cover 
of  one  of  those  band-boxes  in  which  milliners  pack  ladies' 
dresses.  Lenbach  had  given  it  a  lasting  value,  for  he  had 
drawn  upon  it  a  pen-and-ink  sketch  of  Prince  Bismarck  in  a 
forester's  cap.  He  asked  me  to  accept  it  as  a  memento  of  our 
first  meeting,  and  added  that  if  I  came  to  see  him  in  Munich 
he  would  give  me  something  more  worthy  of  acceptance.^ 

Some  months  later  I  paid  Lenbach  a  visit  at  Munich,  when 
he  proved  as  good  as  his  word,  for  he  painted  my  portrait  in  a 
peculiar  tempera  manner  for  which  he  had  at  that  time  a 
strong  partiality,  and  made  me  a  present  of  it.  I  was  leaving 
Munich  for  Friedrichsruh  on  another  visit  to  Prince  Bismarck, 
and  Lenbach  enjoined  me  to  be  sure  and  show  it  to  the 
Prince.  This  I  was  naturally  somewhat  reluctant  to  do ; 
1  My  Beminiscences  of  Prince  Biimarck,  pp.  70-71. 

127 


GERMAN    ]M  E  M  O  11 1  E  S 

but,  being  anxious  to  carry  out  his  wislics,  I  took  the 
cartoon  one  evening  after  dinner  into  the  drawing-room 
and  submitted  it  for  the  Prince's  inspection,  with  an 
apology  that  it  was  Lenbach\s  express  wish  that  I  should 
do  so.  Bismarck  looked  attentively  at  the  picture,  and, 
turning  to  me  with  the  sly  smile  which  was  often  seen 
on  his  countenance  when  he  was  about  to  say  anything 
pointed,  remarked  :  "  He  has  flattered  you,"  gazing  intently 
at  me  as  if  waiting  to  hear  what  I  might  say.  "  To  tell 
you  the  truth.  Prince,*"  I  rejoined,  "  I  am  still  so  sensible 
of  the  honour  Lenbach  has  conferred  upon  me,  that, 
after  having  painted  your  Highness,  he  should  have  condescended 
to  paint  me,  that  I  have  not  yet  troubled  to  think  whether 
the  likeness  be  flattering  or  otherwise."" 

During  the  next  twelve  years,  down  to  Lenbach's  death,  I  was 
a  frequent  guest  at  his  residence  in  Munich.  He  came  to  see 
me  on  several  occasions  in  London  ;  and  I  repeatedly  met  him 
as  a  fellow  guest  of  Prince  Bismarck's  at  Friedrichsruh.  At 
Bismarck's  death  Lenbach  and  I  were  among  the  very  few  who 
were  permitted,  indeed  invited,  to  take  a  last  look  at  the  dead 
statesman,  a  privilege  which  was  not  accorded  to  more  than  a 
dozen  persons  in  all,  of  whom  scarcely  six  can  be  living  to-day. 

When  Lenbach  died  the  art  world  of  Germany  forgot  for 
the  moment  its  petty  envies  and  jealousies,  and  joined  in 
the  spirit  of  Shakespeare's  noble  words  which,  as  if  coined 
anew  for  the  occasion,  burst  forth  simultaneously  from  the 
whole  German  Press  : 

Take  him  for  all  in  all  he  was  a  man, 
We  shall  not  look  upon  his  like  again. 

An  eminent  art  historian  wrote  in  the  Frankfurter 
Zeitung :  "  A  life  has  come  to  an  end  rich  and  beautiful 
as  that  of  no  second  artist  of  our  time.  Lenbach  towered 
above  our  bourgeois  age,  like  some  scion  of  those  distant  days 
when  artists  mixed  on  an  equality  with  kings,  when  the 
Emperor  Charles  the  Fifth  did  not  disdain  to  pick  up  the 
brush  which  had  fallen  from  the  hand  of  a  Titian,  and 
128 


FHANZ  AOX   LKNBACH 


LENBACH 

Rubens  rode  through  the  city  of  Antwerp  decked  in  a  chain 
of  gold/'  ^ 

According  to  that  acute  observer  of  national  life,  Gustave 
le  Bon,^  the  true  artist,  "  whether  poet,  architect  or  painter, 
possesses  the  magic  faculty  of  expressing  in  his  syntheses  the 
soul  of  an  epoch  and  of  a  race.  Very  impressionable,  very  un- 
conscious, thinking  more  especially  in  images  and  reasoning 
but  little,  artists  are  at  certain  epochs  the  faithful  mirrors  of 
the  society  in  which  they  live  ;  their  works  are  the  most  exact 
documents  to  which  recourse  can  be  had  with  a  view  to 
evoking  a  vanished  civilisation.  They  are  too  unconscious  not 
to  be  sincere,  and  too  much  impressed  by  their  surroundings 
not  to  give  faithful  expression  to  the  ideas,  sentiments,  needs 
and  tendencies  of  their  environment." 

Many  are  of  opinion  that  in  Franz  von  Lenbach  Germany 
possessed  one  of  those  rare  artists  who  reflect  the  soul  of  an 
epoch,  for  his  work  will  hand  down  to  coming  generations  the 
dominant  personalities  of  a  glorious  period  in  German  history. 
Prince  Bismarck  went  out  of  his  way  to  declare  that  it  pleased 
him  to  feel  that  he  would  be  known  hereafter  by  means  of 
Lenbach's  portraits. 

The  story  of  Lenbach \s  humble  parentage,  his  boyhood  in 
the  Bavarian  village  of  Schrobenhausen,  his  early  struggles  and 
prompt  achievement  of  renown,  is  widely  known.  One  day, 
when  drivinjj  out  with  Princess  Bismarck  in  the  neighbour- 
hood  of  Varzin,  as  she  herself  told  me,  the  carriage  passed 
a  cottage  on  the  wall  of  which  a  mason  was  working.  I^enbach 
turned  to  the  Princess,  and  with  his  wistful  smile  said  :  "  You 
see  that  man.  Princess ;  I,  too,  was  once  at  work  like  that  poor 
fellow." 

Lenbach's  father  was  a  village  builder  with  a  large  family. 
His  charge  for  drawing  up  the  plan  of  a  cottage  was  about 
one  florin,  or  one  shilling  and  eightpence  in  English  money. 
So  it  may  well  have  been  within  the  functions  of  his  gifted 

i  Richard  Muther  on  Franz  von  Lenbach,  Frankfurter  Zeitung,  May  8, 
1904. 

?  Tlie  Psychology  of  Feoples,  by  Gustave  le  Bon.     Fisher  Unwin,  189'.t. 

I  129 


GERMAN    MEMORIES 

son  to  lend  a  helping  hand  occasionally  with  brick  and  mortar. 
He  told  me  that  he  lived  on  less  than  a  pound  a  month 
during  the  days  of  his  apprenticeship.  Long  before  he  died 
the  peasant's  son  had  become  what  Tiziano  Vccellio  was  once 
before  him:  "The  painter  of  kings,  and  a  king  among  painters." 
But  even  this  description  of  Lenbach\s  scope  of  activity  is  in- 
adequate. For  the  painter  of  kings  in  his  case  did  not  include 
the  court  painter  ;  but  the  term  comprised  the  limning  of 
those  for  whom  the  German  language  has  coined  the  beau- 
tiful untranslatable  term  of  Gcistesheroen,  "  Heroes  of  the 
Mind."  These  were  indeed  the  only  kings  of  whom  Lenbach 
would  have  cared  to  be  called  the  painter.  He  was  not  im- 
pressed by  rank,  and,  though  he  had  probably  painted  more 
exalted  personages  than  any  other  artist  of  his  time,  he  had 
refused  almost  as  many  commissions  as  he  accepted.  He 
declined  an  invitation  of  the  Emperor  Alexander  HI.  to  go 
to  St.  Petersburg,  and  I  was  present  when  he  likewise  declined 
a  telegraphic  summons  to  come  to  London  to  paint  Mr.  Cecil 
Rhodes.  Showing  me  the  telegram,  he  said  :  "  Let  him  come 
to  Munich." 

The  extraordinary  position  Lenbach  occupied  in  the  social 
and  artistic  world  of  Germany,  and  more  particularly  of  Munich, 
was  due  nearly  as  much  to  his  strong  personality  as  to  his 
eminence  as  an  artist. 

Lenbach  was  one  of  the  small  number  of  great  artists  who 
followed  through  life  the  full  bent  of  an  artistic  temperament 
without  suffering  shipwreck  in  the  process  ;  standing  here  in 
marked  contrast  to  Rembrandt,  the  genius  with  whom  he  has 
often  been  compared.  During  the  critical  period  in  which 
many  talented  men  nurse  their  chances  of  *'  getting  on "  in 
the  world,  Lenbach,  whether  in  Rome,  Vienna  or  Madrid, 
whilst  working  as  hard  as  only  the  strong  can  work,  yet  led 
a  high-strung  life  in  the  midst  of  a  society  composed  of  lovely 
women  and  highly  gifted  men.  Heedless  of  the  morrow,  he 
breasted  the  flood  of  fancy  and  passion  on  the  full  tide  of  a 
happy-go-lucky  existence.  Few  are  privileged  to  wander  with 
impunity  under  the  figurative  palm-tree  where  endless  pitfalls, 
130 


LENBACH 

the  searchings  of  a  morbid  sensibility,  await  the  unwary  genius. 
But  the  aesthetic  refinement,  the  innate  strength — what 
Carlyle  would  have  called  the  "  valour  "  of  the  man — carried 
him  through  all  and  brought  him  at  last  safely  into  the 
haven  of  home  life.  There,  with  his  devoted  wife  and  their 
children  around  him,  he  worked  to  the  last,  harder  and  more 
successfully  than  ever,  excelling  the  productions  of  his  earlier 
years  in  richness  of  colour  as  well  as  in  power  of  composition 
and  execution.  The  work  of  his  later  period  surprised  even 
those  who  had  been  his  life-long  admirers.  His  portrait  of 
Leo  XIII.  was  unanimously  proclaimed  to  be  the  finest 
rendering  of  a  Pontiff  since  Raphael  painted  Julius  II.  and 
Velasquez  Innocent  X. 

Somebody  once  asked  Lenbach  what  might  be  his  price  for 
a  portrait.  "  That  all  depends,"  he  replied  ;  "  from  20,000 
marks,  which  I  may  ask,  down  to  5000,  which  I  may  be 
willing  to  pay  for  the  privilege  of  painting  an  exceptionally 
interesting  face."  This  answer  supplies  a  key  to  the 
character  of  the  man.  It  illustrates  his  indifference  to  money 
where  his  artistic  instincts  were  called  into  play. 

In  many  cases  he  was  able  to  ask  practically  what  he  liked. 
Yet  he  never  went  beyond  a  certain  figure,  which  was  con- 
siderably less  than  rumour  credits  certain  English,  French  and 
American  artists  with  getting  for  their  work.  He  told  me 
that  he  disliked  asking  what  he  considered  to  be  an  excessive 
price,  even  when  certain  of  obtaining  it.  Where  an  ex- 
ceptionally high  price  was  offered  to  induce  him  to  reconsider 
a  previous  refusal  he  never  went  back  upon  it.  He  once 
mentioned  the  exact  amount  which  the  German  Emperor  had 
paid  for  a  portrait.  It  was  not  excessive,  and  I  said  as  much. 
But  Lenbach  replied  that  it  was  ample,  that  he  was  well  paid, 
and  that  he  would  not  have  cared  to  accept  more.  He  did 
not  like  the  idea  of  receiving  more  than  he  thought  his  work 
was  fairly  worth.  As  a  rule  royal  personages  did  not  appeal 
to  him,  though  there  were  exceptions.  There  was  little  in 
them  that  interested  him  ;  and  even  from  a  business  point 
of  view,  strange    to    say,    they  are     not    always    satisfactory 

131 


GERMAN     INI  EMORIES 

customers.  They  want  too  much  for  their  money  and  are 
(liflicult  to  please.  Besides,  the  eticjuette  which  surrounds 
them  is  tedious.  Lenbach  was  willing  to  suppress  his  indi- 
viduality for  days  together  when  in  contact  with  exacting 
genius,  but  it  was  irksome  to  him  to  be  obliged  to  do  so  in 
the  presence  of  royal  mediocrity. 

His  aim  in  painting  a  portrait  was  to  render  the  dominant 
characteristics  of  his  sitter,  in  order  to  do  which  it  was 
necessary  for  him,  as  he  maintained,  to  be  able  to  understand 
his  or  her  character.  It  is  related  of  him  that,  when  paint- 
ing the  Emperor  Francis  Joseph  of  Austria,  he  vainly 
endeavoured  to  arrive  at  a  satisfactory  conception  of  the 
monarch's  soul.  At  last  he  laid  down  his  brush  and  said, 
apologisingly,  that  the  Emperor  struck  him  as  a  man  who  was 
so  completely  oppressed  with  care  that  he  feared  he  would  be 
unable  to  give  his  imperial  sitter  satisfaction. 

Endless  was  the  fund  of  anecdote  and  experiences  concern- 
ing his  dealings  with  the  great  of  this  world. 

One  summer  evening  Lenbach  was  passing  out  of  his  studio 
into  the  grounds  when  he  saw  two  ladies  in  black,  looking  at 
the  different  bits  of  antique  sculpture  in  his  garden  with 
evident  interest.  He  went  up,  and  addressing  them  said  to 
the  unknown  trespassers  in  a  somewhat  pointed  tone  :  "  What 
can  I  do  for  you,  meine  Damen  ? "  "  Oh,  pray  forgive  us, 
Herr  Professor,"  replied  one  of  the  ladies  ;  "  I  am  the  Empress 
of  Austria,  and  I  thought  I  should  like  to  fill  up  the  time 
till  our  train  starts  by  looking  at  your  beautiful  villa."  Needless 
to  say  she  did  this  at  once  in  Lenbach'^ '  company.  He  told 
nie  afterwards  that  he  had  painted  the  Empress  many  years 
previously,  but  she  had  changed  so  much  that  he  did  not 
recognise  her. 

A  wealthy  friend  of  mine  wanted  Lenbach  to  paint  his 
wife's  portrait,  and,  as  I  was  going  to  Munich,  asked  me  to 
make  the  suggestion  to  him.  "  What  does  his  wife  look 
like  ?  *"  queried  Lenbach.  I  gave  a  flattering  description  of 
the  lady,  but  Lenbach  was  not  in  a  humour  to  do  business. 
He  was  in  one  of  those  moods  in  which  he  felt  it  to  be  almost 
132 


LENBACH 

an  artistic  degradation  to  paint  anybody  merely  because  they 
were  prepared  to  pay  him  for  doing  so.  "  Tell  your  friend," 
he  said,  "  that  you  did  not  mention  the  matter  to  me ;  that 
is  the  easiest  way  to  get  out  of  it ;  besides,  I  am  busy  paint- 
ing my  little  girl."  Had  he  lived  it  had  been  his  intention, 
as  he  told  me,  to  devote  himself  to  landscape  painting. 

His  dealings  with  possible  clients  did  not  always  pass  off  so 
smoothly  as  this  particular  one,  for,  although  incapable  of 
intentionally  causing  pain,  he  was  sometimes  unable  to  repress 
the  temptation  to  speak  his  mind  if  provoked  to  do  so.  A 
Berlin  banker  once  asked  him  point  blank  what  he  would 
charge  for  painting  his  portrait ;  Lenbach  mentioned  an  un- 
usually large  sum — this  being  a  playful  ruse  of  his  when 
disinclined  to  undertiike  a  commission  and  to  avoid  being 
obliged  to  give  a  direct  refusal.  "  But  surely  that  is  too 
much,"  blurted  out  the  close-fisted  millionaire.  "  I  bought  a 
portrait  which  you  painted  of  Prince  Bismarck  for  less  than 
half  that  price."  "  That  may  be,"  replied  Lenbach,  quietly. 
"  It  was  a  pleasure  to  me  to  portray  him  ;  but  surely,  Herr 
X — ,  without  offence,  you  do  not  imagine  that  it  would  be  an 
equal  pleasure  to  me  to  paint  you  ?  " 

Sympathy  and  antipathy  of  a  personal  as  well  as  of  an  artistic 
nature  were  strong  influences  with  him.  Some  years  ago  a  few 
friends  of  Professor  Virchow  intended  to  present  him  with 
his  portrait,  and,  approaching  Lenbach  with  a  view  to  his 
accepting  the  commission,  asked  what  his  price  would  be. 
Lenbach  declared  that  he  would  consider  it  an  honour  to  paint 
the  scientist's  portrait,  and  named  a  comparatively  small  sum, 
but  added  that  if  Professor  Virchow  had  not  been  such  an  in- 
veterate enemy  of  Prince  Bismarck  he  would  have  been  only 
too  pleased  to  paint  him  for  nothing. 

When  Lenbach  had  struck  a  bargain  he  often  made  his 
sitter  a  present  in  addition  of  a  pastel  sketch  or  even  a  finished 
painting.  I  doubt  if  an  artist  has  ever  lived  who  gave  away 
so  much  in  money  value  of  his  own  work  as  this  extraordinary 
man.  For  even  his  fugitive  sketches,  the  work  of  a  few  hours, 
fetched  high  prices.      He  scarcely  had  a  friend  to  whom  he  did 

133 


GERMAN    MEMORIES 

not  at  one  time  or  other  give  one  or  even  more  valuable 
specimens  of  his  work.  'J'o  those  to  whom  he  was  specially 
attached — for  instance,  Priiu:e  Bismarck — he  presented  price- 
less portraits  in  oil.  If  a  face  interested  him  he  would  make 
a  sketch  of  it,  and  when  finished  give  it  to  the  owner.  If  a 
countenance  did  not  appeal  to  his  artistic  sense  he  would  evince 
no  desire  to  reproduce  it,  even  though  it  were  that  of  an 
intimate  friend.  In  such  cases,  however,  he  would  still  gratify 
his  gift-giving  propensities  and  surprise  his  friend  with  the 
offer  of  a  sketch  of  Bismarck  or  of  some  beautiful  woman. 
Anything  as  long  as  he  could  give  pleasure  to  those  around 
him. 

Lenbach^s  generosity  was  of  a  princely  kind  and,  indeed, 
boundless.  It  was,  as  already  stated,  partly  because  of  the 
enjoyment  it  afforded  him  to  give  pleasure  to  others,  partly 
also  an  outcome  of  the  two  mainsprings  of  his  artistic 
nature :  his  love  of  the  characteristic  in  man  and  of  the 
beautiful  in  woman.  The  following  is  an  authentic  instance 
of  the  latter.  One  day  a  gentleman,  accompanied  by  a  beauti- 
ful girl,  came  to  see  him  at  his  studio  in  Rome.  They  turned 
out  to  be  a  Venetian  banker  named  Rombo  and  his  young 
daughter  Annina.  After  admiring  everything,  they  gave  the 
painter  a  cordial  invitation  to  be  sure  to  come  to  Venice  and 
pay  them  a  visit.  Passing  through  Venice  some  time  after- 
wards, Lenbach  met  them  again,  and  expressed  a  wish  to  be 
allowed  to  paint  the  daughter.  The  preliminaries  were  soon 
arranged,  when  an  unexpected  hitch  presented  itself.  Signor 
Rombo  was  desirous  of  arranging  the  price  he  was  to  pay  for 
his  daughter's  portrait,  when,  to  his  surprise,  Lenbach  insisted 
on  painting  her  for  nothing.  He  said  it  was  no  labour  to 
him  to  paint  a  head  of  such  classical  beauty,  but  an  enjoy- 
ment which  would  yield  him  untold  artistic  gratification  and 
for  which  he  could  take  no  payment  whatever.  Signor 
Rombo  declined  to  accept  such  a  present  and  insisted  on 
paying  for  the  portrait.  As  both  sides  proved  obstinate  the 
matter  fell  through,  and  the  lady  in  question,  to-day  the 
renowned  Venetian  beauty  known  to  the  world  as  Countess 
134 


L  E  N  B  A  C  H 

Morosini,  was  denied   the  privilege  of  being  immortalised  by 
Lenbach. 

This  story  might  well  seem  incredible,  or  it  might  be 
suspected,  at  least,  that  some  undisclosed  item  altered  its  true 
import,  were  it  not  that  authentic  instances  are  positively 
without  end  of  Lenbach's  disinterestedness  where  his  artistic 
instincts  were  called  into  play.  So  much  so  that  those  who 
are  best  acquainted  with  his  record  in  this  respect  might  well 
marvel  how  he  was  ever  able  to  make  the  amount  of  money  he 
did,  seeing  how  much  of  his  work  he  gave  away  and  how 
much  of  his  earnings  he  spent  on  others,  and  also  on  the  pur- 
chase of  works  of  old  masters  to  adorn  his  palatial  residence. 
Happily,  however,  his  marvellous  industry,  his  capacity  for 
work,  were  on  a  par  with  his  generosity.  Even  by  accepting 
payment  for  about  half,  or  let  me  say  two-thirds,  of  what  he 
painted — the  rest  being  given  away — he  was  yet  able  to  earn 
a  handsome  income,  to  support  a  number  of  his  poor  relatives, 
and  to  leave  his  wife  and  children  handsomely  provided  for. 

To  say  that  the  magnanimity  of  the  man  was  now  and  then 
not  appreciated  is  only  to  state  a  common  experience  of 
human  nature,  but  it  was  also  abused  by  some  whose  wealth 
and  high  station  should  have  rendered  such  a  thing  impossible. 
During  his  sojourn  in  Rome  in  the  early  eighties,  a  friend  one 
day  brought,  to  visit  his  studio,  a  lady  whose  beauty  made  a 
great  impression  on  him,  a  by  no  means  unusual  occurrence. 
Although  Lenbach  was  overwhelmed  with  commissions  at  the 
time,  he  threw  everything  on  one  side  and  begged  to  be 
allowed  to  make  a  sketch  of  so  lovely  an  apparition.  The 
lady  came  again  and  again,  and  before  many  days  had  passed 
Lenbach  had  dashed  off  four  separate  sketches  of  her.  In  his 
enthusiasm  he  packed  them  up  and  sent  them  to  her  hotel, 
with  a  few  lines  begging  her  to  honour  him  by  accepting  what 
it  had  afforded  him  so  much  artistic  gratification  to  produce  ; 
a  present  which,  at  the  rate  he  was  readily  paid  for  his  work, 
represented  a  money  value  of  about  a  thousand  pounds.  The 
lady's  husband,  an  American  multi-millionaire,  felt  that  such 
a  present  required  a  quid  pro  quo,  and  sent  the  artist  a  cheque 

135 


GERMAN    MEMORIES 

for  dfi'SO  !      Lenbach   returned    the    cheque,   but  the  sketches 
did  not  come  back. 

To  be  in  Lenbach's  confidence  was  to  enlarge  one's  know- 
ledge of  the  meanness  underlying  the  pomp  and  glitter  of  the 
great  international  world  of  "  society/'  To  know  him  inti- 
mately was  to  marvel  at  the  self-restraint  of  a  noble  nature 
which  seldom  allowed  itself  to  utter  a  word  in  anger  or 
complaint  of  human  turpitude.  He  possessed  a  rare  strength, 
an  even  rarer  greatness  of  soul. 

Although  Lenbach  did  not  speak  a  word  of  English  he  had 
a  strong  liking  for  England.  He  called  London  "  beautiful."" 
When  in  need  of  a  holiday,  he  repeatedly  took  it  by  coming 
straight  from  Munich  to  London  for  a  few  days.  He 
studiously  avoided  seeing  anybody,  although  many  would  have 
been  glad  to  meet  him.  In  October  1894  he  came  over  to  see 
the  exhibition  of  old  masters  at  the  Grafton  Gallery.  He 
stayed  here  a  week,  and,  except  that  I  took  him  to  hear 
James  M.  Coward  play  the  organ — an  instrument  he  loved, 
and  of  which  he  declared  Mr.  Coward  to  be  the  best  player  he 
had  ever  heard — he  literally  spoke  to  no  living  soul  outside 
my  family  during  his  stay.  He  told  me  that  he  had  more 
than  enough  of  "  society  "  in  his  own  country. 

He  came  to  England  to  commune  with  the  great  dead,  to 
delight  in  the  work  which  they  had  left  behind  them.  The 
National  Gallery  was  the  Kaaba  of  his  English  Mecca,  and 
after  he  had  worshipped  daily  at  its  shrine  there  came 
the  Raphael  cartoons  at  South  Kensington,  the  Elgin 
marbles  at  the  British  Museum,  the  Wallace  Collection  and 
Westminster  Abbey.  We  also  went  to  see  the  pictures 
at  Hampton  Court  and  Greenwich.  He  was  not  particularly 
struck  by  the  former,  and  did  not  care  much  for  Lely 
or  Kneller.  He  also  found  fault  with  the  shabby  way  in 
which  the  pictures  are  kept  at  Hampton  Court.  He  was 
more  favourably  impressed  with  Greenwich.  The  National 
Gallery  he  declared  to  be  in  many  respects  the  finest  collection 
of  paintings  in  the  world.  I  have  taken  him  there  in 
the  morning  and  left  him  there  the  best  part  of  the 
136 


I.ENBACH 

day.  He  would  then  expatiate  endlessly  on  the  glories  of 
the  English  eighteenth-century  portrait  painters.  But  his 
admiration  was  not  restricted  to  these  masters.  He  was 
almost  as  eloquent  in  his  appreciation  of  Constable  and 
Turner.  I  have  heard  him  say  that  the  best  work  of 
Constable  and  Turner  possessed  higher  merits  than  the  whole 
sum  of  landscape  painting  of  some  countries.  In  fact,  he  did 
not  think  the  world  had  produced  their  ecjuals.  His  keenest 
sympathies,  however,  were  reserved  for  Reynolds  and 
Gainsborough.  He  envied  these  masters  the  beautiful  women, 
the  distinguished-looking  men,  that  sat  to  them.  He  was 
amused  when  I  told  him  that  they  had  not  always  been 
appreciated  at  their  present  high  value  in  England,  and  that 
I  had  read  somewhere  in  one  of  Charles  Lamb's  essays 
how  Reynolds  was  compared  to  his  disadvantage  with  some 
second-rate  Italian.  Even  the  work  of  the  lesser  lights  of  this 
great  school,  such  as  Romney,  Sir  Thomas  Lawrence,  Raeburn, 
etc.,  Lenbach  held  to  be  superior  to  the  best  contemporary 
art ;  for  they  are  already  hallowed  by  the  efHux  of  time, 
according  to  him  the  only  true  criterion  of  all  art.  For  all 
that  he  believed  that  the  enormous  prices  which  their  work 
fetches  to-day  are  exaggerated  and  will  not  last ;  particularly 
as  many  of  the  pictures  are  not  in  a  good  state  of 
preservation. 

Of  contemporary  English  artists  I  recall  his  appreciative 
reference  to  Orchardson  and  particularly  to  G.  F.  Watts,  on 
both  of  whom  we  called.  But  in  general  he  dwelt  upon  the 
ephemeral  character  of  the  art  products  of  our  time,  which, 
with  few  exceptions,  he  believed  destined  to  pass  away,  or  at 
least  to  be  priced  hereafter  at  about  the  cost  of  their  frames. 

"  What  makes  you  think  that  that  will  be  their  fate  ? " 
I   asked. 

"Well,"  he  replied,  "you  have  only  to  judge  for  yourself 
by  bearing  in  mind  that  comparatively  little  has  come 
down  to  us  of  the  artistic  work  of  the  past.  All  the  rest  has 
disappeared.  Besides,"  he  added,  "  take  the  experience  of 
our    own    lifetime.      What    is    left    to-day   of    many    of    the 

137 


GERMAN    JVJEMORIES 

reputations  of  thirty    years    ago  ?      Look    at     Germany,    for 
instance ;  where  are  K.  and  M.  and  many  others  to-day  ?  " 

"  Well,  then,"  I  remarked,  "  if  you  have  so  small  an 
opinion  of  the  art  of  the  present  time,  what  do  you  think 
is  likely  to  be  the  fate  of  your  own  work  ?  " 

"  As  for  that,"  he  said,  "  I  think  I  may  possibly  have  a 
chance  of  living  ;  but  only  if  individualisation  or  charac- 
terisation be  deemed  to  constitute  a  quality  of  permanent 
value  in  a  picture.  This,  however,  I  shall  never  know,  for  it 
can  only  be  adjudged  by  posterity.  If  that  verdict  should 
prove  unfavourable,  then  my  work  too  will  pass  with  the 
rest,  for  it  cannot  compare  on  their  lines  with  the  great 
masters  of  the  past." 

"  How  do  you  account  for  it,"  I  continued,  "  that  this 
particular  English  school  of  art  painters,  which  you  are  so 
fond  of,  is  of  such  supreme  excellence  ?  " 

"  Well,"  he  answered,  "  you  see,  men  like  Reynolds  and 
Gainsborough  led  very  different  lives  to  what  artists  do 
nowadays.  They  threw  their  whole  heart  into  their  work, 
and  even  when  they  were  most  productive  they  were  imbued 
with  sincerity  and  a  rare  power  of  concentration.  Theirs  was 
a  dignity  which  is  foreign  to  our  impressionable,  noisy  age. 
Thus,  somehow,  they  possessed  the  secret  of  creating  the 
beautiful." 

It  was  one  of  Lenbach''s  pet  ideas  that  there  is  little 
character  in  our  age,  which  is  bereft  of  colour,  costume  and 
symbolism.  Fashion  forces  us  all  to  don  the  dull,  featureless 
garb  of  mediocrity,  so  that  the  Pope  and  the  chimney-sweep 
are  about  the  only  two  people  left  whose  dress  bespeaks  the 
character  of  their  calling. 

In  the  course  of  our  wanderings  we  went  to  look  at 
the  house  once  inhabited  by  Sir  Joshua  Reynolds  in  Leicester 
Square,  the  dilapidated  condition  of  which  (it  was  tenanted  by 
an  auctioneer)  saddened  him.  "  How  can  such  a  wealthy 
country  thus  neglect  the  mementoes  of  her  great  men  ?  "  he 
exclaimed.  Passing  along  Piccadilly  he  saw  in  a  shop  window 
an  artist's  palette  ticketed  up  as  having  once  belonged  to  Sir 
138 


LENBACH 

Joshua  lleynolds,  and  he  begged  nie  to  go  in  and  inquire  what 
they  would  take  for  it.  "  It  is  not  for  sale,"  was  the  answer. 
"  Try  again,"  Lenbach  urged  ;  "  offer  them  twenty  or  tJiirty 
pounds  for  it."  I  did  so,  but  to  no  purpose.  It  was  an  heirloom 
of  the  firm,  I  was  told,  which  is  still  the  self-same  one  which 
over  a  hundred  years  ago,  when  in  Long  Acre,  sold  colours  to  Sir 
Joshua  Reynolds.      The  name  over  the  shop  was  Roberson. 

"  Surely,"  I  said,  "  that  is  a  ridiculous  price  to  give  for  a 
bit  of  old  wooden  board."  "  Oh,  no,"  Lenbach  replied ; 
"  Reynolds  was  one  of  the  greatest  painters  of  all  times.  And 
he  was  not  only  a  great  painter,  but  a  most  able  literary 
exponent  of  art  as  well.  His  '  Discourses '  are  still  the  best 
embodiment  of  the  principles  of  art  we  can  refer  to.  The 
English  of  the  eighteenth  century  stand  on  a  par  with  the 
great  masters  of  Italy,  Spain  and  Holland  ;  the  French,  for 
instance,  with  all  their  boasted  artistic  qualities,  have  never 
produced  such  a  man  as  Reynolds." 

One  day  we  visited  Mr.  G.  F.  Watts's  studio  in  Melbury 
Road.  On  leaving  I  asked  Lenbach  what  might  be  his 
opinion  of  Mr.  Watts  as  an  artist  ?  He  answered,  "  Reynolds 
was  a  child  of  nature.  Watts  is  one  of  nature's  nephews,"  a 
differentiation  which  still  placed  Watts  in  Lenbach's  estima- 
tion far  above  most  contemporary  art,  among  the  immortals. 
What  particularly  excited  Lenbach's  regard  for  Watts,  and 
also  for  Burne  Jones,  was  that  neither  of  them  had  ever 
swerved  a  hair's  breadth  from  his  artistic  ideals  for  the  sake 
of  making  money.  They  stood  above  the  pursuit  of  gain. 
Lenbach  had  made  too  much  money  himself  to  think  unkindly 
of  others  who  had  been  equally  successful,  but  he  believed 
that  there  was  a  point  beyond  which  no  artist  can  go  in  that 
direction  without  jeopardising  whatever  chance  he  might 
possess  of  producing  work  of  lasting  value.  To  be  7iU  sehr 
Kanfmann^  too  much  of  the  huckster,  was  the  danger.  "  The 
rock  of  the  charlatan,"  he  said,  "for  in  art,  as  in  other 
imperative  matters,  the  Biblical  words  applied  with  peculiar 
force,  '  What  shall  it  profit  a  man  if  he  gain  the  whole  world 
and  lose  his  own  soul  ? '  " 

139 


G  E  U  M  AN    ]\1  E  M  O  11 1  E  S 

The  London  crowd  excited  the  interest  of  this  close  observer 
of  human  character ;  but  the  sight  of  the  many  dirty, 
shabbily  dressed  people  we  met  in  the  streets  repelled  him. 
It  filled  his  sensitive  nature  with  pain.  The  slums  within  a 
few  minutes'*  walk  of  Westminster  Abbey  drew  from  him  the 
remark  that  it  was  hard  to  believe  that  such  ugliness  could 
have  existed  at  all  at  a  time  when  architects  lived  capable  of 
creating  such  beautiful  structures,  of  composing  in  stone  with 
such  sincerity  and  reverence. 

One  night  we  went  to  a  music-hall.  The  place  called  forth 
the  dry  comment :  "  Cads  on  the  stage,  cads  in  the  audience." 
The  vulgarity  of  the  crowd  shocked  him.  The  squalor  of  the 
tenement  dwellings  of  the  working  classes,  as  seen  from  the 
railway  carriages  on  the  south  London  lines,  had  such  a 
saddening  effect  upon  him  that  he  could  not  banish  the 
memory  of  it  for  days.  He  even  recurred  to  the  subject  long 
afterwards  when  I  visited  him  in  Munich. 

"  There  must  be  an  untold  amount  of  misery  amid  all  this 
wealth  ?  But,  after  all,  the  English  have  done  great  work  in 
the  past,  not  only  in  art.  They  have  given  much  humour  to 
the  world  (Sie  haben  der  Welt  viel  humor  gegeben).  A  pity 
they  seem  to  want  everything  for  themselves  and  begrudge  us 
Germans  our  rising  commerce,  our  insignificant  Colonial 
possessions." 

In  the  month  of  October  1903  I  spent  a  few  days  with 
Lenbach,  in  Munich,  for  the  last  time.  He  had  almost 
recovered  from  the  partial  seizure  of  twelve  months  before,  and 
had  just  finished  a  portrait  of  General  Woodford,  United 
States  Ambassador  at  Madrid.  And,  according  to  all  accounts, 
his  powers  of  portraiture  showed  no  decline  whatever.  One 
afternoon  we  went  together  by  train  to  the  Starnberg  Lake, 
on  the  beautiful  banks  of  which,  in  sight  of  the  snow-clad 
Alps,  he  was  having  a  stately  villa  built  after  the  design  of 
his  friend  Gabriel  von  Seidl.  He  told  me  that  he  thought  he 
was  now  on  the  point  of  realising  the  supreme  ambition  of  his 
life — namely,  of  devoting  himself  entirely  to  art  for  its  own 
sake ;  that  is  to  say,  to  work  without  thinking  about  money,  to 
140 


LENBACH 

paint  landscapes  and  beautiful  children.  For  this  strong  man, 
who  had  stood  erect  in  the  presence  of  more  monarchs  than 
many  a  high-born  courtier  crawls  before  in  a  lifetime,  always 
remained  Eiii  Natur  Kind,  an  unspoilt  child  of  Nature. 
And  in  the  artistic  evening  of  his  life  a  voice  seemed  to  call 
unto  him  and  inspire  his  artistic  soul  with  the  words  of  our 
Saviour,  "  Suffer  little  children  to  come  unto  Me,  and  forbid 
them  not,  for  of  such  is  the  Kingdom  of  God."  Alas  !  it  was 
otherwise  ordained,  for  Lenbach  was  shortly  afterwards  struck 
down  by  the  illness  of  which  he  died. 

I  have  left  myself  no  space  to  dwell  upon  the  varied 
intellectual  gifts  of  this  favoured  son  of  the  Bavarian  hills. 
To  tell  of  the  humour  which  sparkled  from  the  lips  and  found 
a  lasting  record  in  hundreds  of  vivacious  anecdotes ;  how, 
whilst  disdaining  the  arts  of  an  orator,  he  yet  succeeded  when 
occasion  arose  in  swaying  an  audience  as  few  trained  rhetori- 
cians could  do,  and  impressed  his  strong  will  upon  his  sur- 
roundings. I  was  twice  present  with  him  at  Friedrichsruh 
on  the  occasion  of  Prince  Bismarck's  birthday,  and  it  was  he 
who  proposed  the  health  of  the  "  birthday  child."  I  remember 
it  was  a  stirring  address,  a  rushing  torrent  of  deep-felt  words, 
which  moved  all  present,  some  even  to  tears. 

Such  was  his  natural  acumen  and  breadth  of  view  in  dealinc 
with  matters  entirely  outside  his  profession  that  he  was  one 
of  whom  it  might  be  justifiably  said  that  he  would  have 
succeeded  in  any  calling  he  might  have  chosen.  I  have  been 
with  him  when  he  bought  pictures  or  bric-d-brac,  and  his 
discrimination  was  as  remarkable  as  his  prompt  decision  in 
paying  what  some  might  have  thought  a  high  price,  but 
which,  thanks  to  his  unerring  judgment,  generally  turned  out 
to  be  a  good  investment.  Since  his  death  one  of  his  Titians 
alone  has  been  sold  for  cf  50,000. 

Lenbach''s  powers  of  organisation  made  him  the  centre — for 
or  against — of  every  art  movement  which  agitated  the 
Bavarian  capital.  To  him  was  mainly  due  the  conception, 
as  well  as  the  erection,  of  the  beautiful  Munich  Kiinstlerhaus, 

Lenbach  was  of  stately  stature  and  powerful  build.      Every- 

141 


GERMAN    MEMORIES 

thinrr  about  the  man  denoted  determination,  will-power, 
strength,  and  yet  refinement,  especially  his  aristocratic  hands, 
the  powerful  forehead,  and  the  piercing  expression  of  his 
luminous  eyes,  which  at  times  took  a  haze  of  tenderness,  rare 
even  in  a  woman.  His  smile  was  intensified  by  the  possession 
of  faultless  white  teeth,  of  which  he  had  not  lost  a  single  one. 
He  used  to  call  himself  ugly,  for  there  was  a  certain  rugged- 
ness  about  his  strong  features  which  one  finds  among  the 
portraits  of  the  Dutch  masters.  But  to  those  who  can  reawl 
aright  the  outward  expression  of  great  qualities  of  heart  and 
mind,  the  proud  dignity  of  manliness,  Lenbach  looked  what  he 
was — every  inch  a  king  among  men. 


142 


CHAPTER    XII 

MUNICH 

I  HAD  been  to  Munich  when  the  picture  galleries,  the  theatres, 
and,  I  fear,  the  quality  of  Munich  beer  were  its  greatest  attrac- 
tions. On  one  occasion,  however,  I  had  a  gruesome  experi- 
ence, for  I  was  prevailed  upon  to  make  an  inspection  of  the 
cemetery,  where,  in  a  separate  building — in  order  to  guard 
against  the  danger  of  burying  any  one  who  might  only  be  in  a 
trance — the  dead  are  exposed  in  public  in  their  open  coffins. 
There  were  dead  of  all  ages  and  of  all  conditions,  for  no 
station  of  life  exempts  from  the  obligation  of  public  exposure. 
Hardly  anybody  was  about,  and  I  could  not  help  reflecting 
that  if  such  a  law  were  to  come  into  force  in  England  it 
might  be  difficult  to  keep  away  the  crowd  whose  morbid 
curiosity  would  draw  them  to  look  at  the  dead.  The  memory 
of  tlie  horrible  sight  haunted  me  for  many  a  day. 

In  the  summer  of  1881  I  bad  an  opportunity  of  seeing 
something  of  the  popular  life  of  South  Germany,  and  more 
particularly  that  of  Munich.  Germany  is  the  home  of  social 
Vereinc,  or  associations,  and  the  rifle  associations  are  among 
the  few  remaining  German  institutions  of  the  Middle  Ages 
which  have  survived  the  ruin  of  the  Thirty  Years  War. 
Originally  they  were  guilds  formed  for  the  defence  of  the 
citizens  against  the  predatory  inroads  of  the  territorial  nobles  ; 
they  are  now  little  more  than  a  harmless  means  of  convivial 
gatlierings  and  open-air  recreation  of  the  small  tradespeople. 
Nearly  every  town  and  many  villages  have  their  rifle  guild 
and  rifle  range  ;  some  of  them  have  been  in  existence  for 
several  centuries,  and  have  documentary  records  to  that  eff*ect. 
In  Karlsbad  the  target  is  still  shown  on  which  Peter  the  Great 

143 


GERMAN    MEMORIES 

scored  a  biiir.s  eye.  The  rifle  ranches  are  not  the  poor  minia- 
ture affairs  in  a  back-yard  with  which  we  are  familiar,  but 
long  stretches  of  communal  land,  often  beautifully  situated  on 
the  fringe  of  a  forest,  with  a  cleanly  kept  restaurant,  a  concert 
and  dancing  saloon,  the  walls  being  covered  with  (juaint  old 
targets. 

In  July  1881  the  Seventh  Great  Triennial  International 
SchYdzcnfcst  took  place  in  Munich,  to  which  crowds  of  visitors 
streamed  from  all  parts  of  Germany,  Austria,  and  Switzerland  ; 
for  rifle-shooting  is  cultivated  even  more  in  these  latter  conn- 
tries  than  in  Germany,  and  these  periodical  meetings  afford 
congenial  opportunies  for  keeping  alive  sympathies  which,  in 
spite  of  political  severance,  exist  between  the  masses  of  these 
predominantly  Teutonic  countries.  This  particular  meeting 
was  a  record  one,  both  as  regards  the  number  of  visitors  who 
attended  it  and  the  amount  of  beer  consumed  on  the  occasion. 
The  streets  of  the  city  were  gaily  decorated,  and  the  leading 
artists  of  Munich,  ever  to  the  fore  in  public  spirit,  did  not 
think  it  beneath  their  dignity  to  lend  their  help  generously  in 
the  way  of  suggestions  for  decoration  and  handsome  donations. 
Foremost  among  them  was  the  eminent  portrait  painter,  Fritz 
A.  Kaulbach,  who  contributed  a  most  effective  figure  of  a  Munich 
beer  maid  in  her  pretty  costume,  and  gave  it  as  a  present 
to  the  Munich  rifle  society — a  valuable  gift,  since  his  pictures 
fetch  very  high  prices.  The  festival  began  with  a  gorgeous 
pageant,  a  procession  in  which  huge  ornamental  cars  with 
groups  of  allegorical  representations  of  trade  guilds  were 
followed  by  files  of  costumed  men  of  past  ages  ;  altogether  a 
picturesque  sight,  and  one  which  could  only  be  witnessed  in 
the  countries  then  represented. 

Over  50,000  people  were  at  the  opening  ceremony,  7000 
ScMitzen  among  them.  There  was  tense  excitement  when  the 
quick-firing  competition  between  the  picked  representatives  of 
Austria,  Switzerlaivl  and  Germany  took  place.  It  lasted  about 
three-quarters  of  an  hour,  and  as  soon  as  the  results  were 
made  known  the  winners  were  conducted — some,  indeed, 
carried  aloft  on  the  shoulders  of  their  friends — to  the  temple 
144 


MUNICH 

which  had  been  erected  for  the  occasion,  where  Prince  Ludwig 
of  Bavaria,  the  heir-apparent  to  the  throne,  distributed  the 
silver  cups  to  the  winners. 

Ten  years  later  I  went  again  to  Munich  under  very 
different  auspices,  as  the  guest  of  PVanz  von  Lenbach.  To 
be  seen  with  him  in  public  was  to  be  oneself  a  personage  of 
even  greater  importance  than  the  winner  of  a  prize  at  a 
Schiitzenfcst.  So  great  was  the  prestige  attaching  to  this 
man  that  it  spread  to  his  immediate  surroundings.  Among 
the  many  eminent  personages  I  met  at  his  house  or  in  direct 
connection  with  him  was  Prince  Ludwig  of  Bavaria,  a  kindly, 
benevolent  man,  whose  relations  with  Lenbach  were  of  an 
extremely  friendly  and  cordial  nature.  He  came  to  Lenbach \s 
atelier  one  day  in  1892  with  two  of  his  daughters  whilst  I 
happened  to  be  there,  and  entrusted  me  with  a  sympathetic 
message  to  convey  to  Prince  Bismarck.  Of  other  casual 
visitors  I  recall  Count  Philip  Eulenburg  ;  Richard  Voss,  the 
dramatist  ;  George  Hirth,  the  genial  creator  of  the  "  Jugend," 
a  very  forceful  man  ;  and  Paul  Heyse,  whose  friendship  I  am 
still  happy  to  possess. 

Paul  Heyse,  whose  poetical  writings  deservedly  enjoy  a 
world-wide  reputation,  was  a  great  friend  of  Lenbach.  He 
lived  in  the  same  road,  in  a  villa  standing  in  a  garden,  in 
surromidings  of  simplicity  and  distinction.  I  had  heard  the 
story  of  his  high-minded  action,  many  years  previously,  when 
he  resigned  an  annual  pension  from  King  Maximilian  of 
Bavaria  because  that  monarch  had  thought  fit  to  withdraw  a 
similar  mark  of  favour  from  Emanuel  Gutzkow,  the  poet,  in 
consequence  of  the  latter's  political  leanings.  This  impressed 
me  with  admiration  for  the  character  of  the  man  as  much 
as  for  his  gifts  as  a  writer.  Heyse  is  one  of  the  remaining 
intellectual  Germans  of  a  previous  generation,  whose  wliole 
manner,  appearance,  and  bearing  betoken  the  well-bred  gentle- 
man. When  Tennyson  died  Heyse  sent  me  a  translation  into 
German  of  a  short  poem  of  the  English  Laureate's  poem, 
"  Crossing  the  Bar,"  which  I  gave  to  the  London  Athenceum 
for  publication. 

K  14o 


GERMAN    MEMORIES 

On  Paul  Heyse's  ei«rhtieth  birthday  he  was  presented  with  a 
costly  album,  each  leaf  of  which  was  contributed  by  some  man 
of  letters  selected  from  different  countries.  I  was  invited  to 
})articipate,  and  wrote  a  few  lines  embodyinf;  the  idea  that, 
although  many  changes  had  come  about  in  Germany,  not  all 
of  which  are  deemed  by  her  own  people  to  be  happy  ones,  as 
long  as  Germany  continued  to  produce  such  lofty  characters  as 
Paul  Ileyse  all  would  be  well  with  her. 

Bjoernstjerne-Bjoernson,  the  distinguished  Norwegian  writer, 
used  to  come  to  Munich  to  see  his  beautiful  auburn-haired 
daughter,  who  was  married  to  Langen,  the  publisher.  During 
one  of  my  visits  to  Munich,  Lenbach  happened  to  be  painting 
the  Norwegian  author's  portrait,  and  this  gave  me  a  welcome 
opportunity  of  making  the  latter's  acquaintance.  He  was 
staying  with  his  son-in-law  at  his  villa,  and  received  me  with 
great  kindness  when  I  called  upon  him.  I  told  him  that 
many  years  ago  his  play.  Das  Fallissement,  had  made  a  deep 
impression  on  me,  and  that  I  had  translated  it  into  English, 
but  could  not  get  an  English  theatre  to  produce  it ;  for  that 
reason  I  had  never  approached  him  on  the  subject.  In  reply 
to  his  query  whether  I  had  read  any  of  his  novels,  I  told  him 
that  my  other  occupations  had  prevented  me  from  reading  any 
novels  for  many  years.  Thereupon  he  presented  me  with 
three  volumes  of  his  works,  in  each  of  which  he  wrote  a  few 
words  and  the  date,  January  20,  1897.  One  was  the  drama 
Der  Koenig,  another  Ucher  Unscre  Kraft.  On  the  flyleaf 
of  his  Neue  Erzachliingen  he  inscribed  the  words,  "  Ach, 
lesen  Sie  doch  wieder  einmal  Erzaehlungen ! — JB.  B.,"  ^  a 
request  to  which  I  readily  responded. 

Hermann  Levi,  general  director  of  the  Court  Opera,  and 
well  known  as  a  composer  of  delightful  songs  and  a  friend  of 
Wagner,  whose  works  he  had  conducted  at  Bayreuth,  was 
another  valuable  addition  to  the  circle  of  my  German  friends. 
He  was  one  of  the  few  distinguished  Germans  I  have  met 
concerning  whom  I  never  heard  a  word  of  depreciation  from 
any  one,  and  from  whose  lips  never  came  an  unkind  remark 
1  '"Oh,  do  read  some  stories  again." 

]46 


MUNICH 

about  others.  He  was  a  refined  and  charming  personality. 
I  first  met  him  at  Friedrichsruh,  whither  he  came  in  1893, 
with  Lenbach,  to  stay  with  Prince  Bismarck  on  his  birthday 
He  soon  made  himself  jjcrsona  gratissima  with  the  Bismarck 
household,  and,  when  he  left,  Bismarck's  daughter,  Countess 
Rantzau,  gave  him  one  of  her  father's  black  felt  hats  as 
a  souvenir ;  for  everything  pertaining  to  the  great  statesman 
had  already  become  a  relic  in  his  lifetime. 

At  Hermann  Levi's  house  in  Munich  I  was  privileged  to 
meet  Frau  Cosima  Wagner,  her  son  Siegfried,  her  daughters, 
and  an  array  of  musical  courtiers  in  her  train.  As  in  the  case 
of  royalty,  the  invitations  had  to  be  submitted  for  the  lady's 
approval,  and  it  was  at  first  deemed  doubtful  whether,  as  a 
friend  of  Lenbach,  from  whom  she  was  said  to  be  estranged, 
I  should  be  allowed  to  meet  her ;  and  this  in  spite  of  Levi's 
intercession  and  the  party  being  given  in  his  house.  It  was  a 
great  occasion,  and  the  date,  January  22,  1899,  one  of 
almost  historical  import  in  musical  annals,  that  of  the  first 
performance  at  the  Royal  Opera  House  at  Munich  of 
Siegfried  Wagner's  opera,  Der  BdrenJiduter,  "  the  man  with 
the  bear  skin  " — apparently  some  old  beer-quaffing,  unwashed 
mythological  Teuton  ! 

Siegfried  and  his  Bdrenhmder  monopolise  the  conversation 
everywhere.  Visitors  have  arrived  from  almost  every  capital 
in  Europe  ;  professional  musical  critics — particularly  a  very 
fat  one,  a  great  authority,  from  Vienna — theatrical  entre- 
preneurs, and  also  a  fair  sprinkling  of  devout,  aristocratic 
jine  fieur,  real  live  princes  and  princesses  among  them.  The 
dress  circle  is  filled  with  Frau  Cosima  Wagner's  friends,  or,  let 
me  say,  devout,  unquestioning  followers  of  Wagner  and  his 
son  Siegfried.  For  no  others  would  for  a  moment  be  allowed 
near  the  Wagnerian  shrine  or  to  cross  the  Wao;nerian  threshold. 
Madame  herself,  dressed  in  black,  her  silvery  hair  setting  off  the 
pointed  aristocratic  features  of  the  Comtesse  d'Agoult's  daughter, 
is  seen  in  a  front  middle  seat ;  her  disciples  are  grouped  around 
her.  Nearly  everybody  is  in  evening  dress,  unusual  attire  in 
a  German  theatre,  reserved  for  grand  and  stately  occasions. 

147 


GERxMAN    MEMORIES 

Dcr  Bdrnihiiuter,  as  it  proceeds,  develops  into  a  veritable 
ovation  for  the  young  composer.  Again  and  again  he  is 
called  before  the  curtain,  and  bows  his  acknowledgments  amid 
vociferous  applause.  Some  of  those  who  are  not  out-and-out 
Wagnerians  find  the  plot,  as  also  the  music,  a  triHe  wearying 
— not  to  say  monotonous.  Lost  souls  give  vent  to  blasphemy. 
They  say  that  this  pre-arranged  success  will  spoil  whatever 
chance  Siegfried  might  have  had  of  producing  solid,  original 
work  of  his  own  ;  that  if  his  father  had  been  alive  he  would 
have  sooner  thrown  the  orchestra  score  at  his  son's  head  than 
have  allowed  the  Bdrenhduter  to  be  heard  in  public.  But  this 
profane  talk,  carried  on  in  tremulous  whispers,  has  little  per- 
ceptible effect  on  the  dominant  wave  of  enthusiastic  approval. 

It  is  past  ten  o'clock.  Down  goes  the  curtain  at  last,  and 
everybody  is  off  in  hot  haste  to  the  Arcis  Strasse,  which  is 
soon  thronged  with  a  long  row  of  carriages  drawing  up  at 
No.  17.  Herr  General  Director  Levi  is  standing  at  the  top 
of  the  staircase  with  his  charming  wife,  both  busy  receiving 
the  favoured  guests.  Hundreds  were  eager  to  come  ;  only 
about  eighty  have  been  privileged  to  do  so.  Herr  Kapell- 
meister Fischer  arrives  very  tired ;  and  no  wonder,  for  he  has 
conducted  the  Bdrenhduter  from  start  to  finish.  Felix  Mottl, 
from  Carlsruhe,  is  already  among  the  throng  which  is  forming 
into  a  circle  ready  to  receive  Siegfried  and  his  mother  in  its 
bosom  as  they  alight  from  the  carriage  and  slowly  ascend  the 
stairs,  the  latter  truly  a  dowager-queen  in  appearance.  It  is 
an  extraordinary  scene.  Frau  Cosima  is  evidently  to  the 
manner  born  for  receiving  regal  homage,  in  this  case  a  very 
tempest   of  congratulations.      The  fairest    women,    even     the 

lovely  Countess  K ,  are  unheeded  here,   where    everybody 

crowds  round  to  snatch  a  glance  of  recognition  from  the 
indomitable  daughter  of  the  great  Liszt  and  her  son  Siegfried's 
mentor.  He  is  less  stately  in  appearance ;  in  fact,  nothing 
could  be  more  simple  and  unassuming  than  his  manner,  the 
almost  boyish,  unaffected  good-nature  with  which  he  shakes 
hands  all  round  and  thanks  his  friends  for  their  good  wishes. 
He  looks  very  much  like  his  father,  although  Frau  Cosima 
148 


MUNICH 

afterwards  gave  it  as  her  opinion  that  he  most  resembled 
her  own  father,  Franz  Liszt.  To  a  phrenologist  his  features 
might  well  recall  music  in  every  outline.  I  fancy  I  can 
trace  a  likeness  between  Siegfried  Wagner  and  almost  every 
great  musician  from  Mozart  downwards.  Otherwise  his  sallow 
complexion  bears  traces  of  the  effects  of  burning  the  midnight 
oil.  This  is  not  surprising,  seeing  that  the  composition  of  an 
opera  on  Wagnerian  lines  is  a  task  which  only  physical  giants 
should  approach. 

Tables  are  laid  for  supper  in  several  of  the  rooms,  which 
are  en  suite,  and  vsoon  the  whole  company  is  seated  and  busy 
discussing  a  sumptuous  repast.  Things  are  not  done  by  halves 
here  ;  music  for  the  ear,  "  made  in  Germany,""  if  you  please  ; 
but  caviare  from  Russia,  pate  de  foie  gras  from  Strasburg,  and 
genuine  champagne  from  Epernay. 

Hitherto  Herr  Levi  had  been  vainly  attempting  to  bring 
me  within  introducing  distance  of  the  Frau  Meisterin,  and 
finally  hinted  that  I  had  better  wait  until  after  supper, 
which  I  did.  Nor  had  I  cause  to  regret  it ;  for  nothing  could 
have  been  more  gracious  than  the  reception  I  met  with  when 
the  Herr  General  Director  piloted  me  into  the  room  set  apart, 
after  the  fashion  of  royalty,  for  the  Dowager  Queen  in  the 
realm  of  Wagnerian  worship  and  those  nearest  to  her  throne. 
There  she  sat,  with  her  paladins  around  her,  those  who  wield 
the  director's  baton  conspicuous,  the  very  field- marshals  of  her 
empire — Mottl,  Fischer  and  others.  Whilst  Levi,  primus 
inter  pares,  is  rushing  about  doing  the  honours,  Siegfried  is 
seated  opposite  to  his  mother,  and  on  either  side  of  him  a 
galaxy  of  handsome  stately  women  ;  prominent  among  these 
his  sister  Eva,  named  after  the  heroine  of  the  Meistersingers, 
Isolde,  Daniele  and  Blandine  von  Bulow,  the  last  three  the 
daughters  of  Frau  Cosima  by  her  first  husband,  Hans  von 
Billow.  I  venture  to  say  a  few  appreciative  words  concerning 
the  great  success  of  her  son's  opera.  But  Frau  Cosima  is  not 
to  be  got  at  so  easily  ;  for  she  replies  that  success  in  itself  is 
all  very  well,  but  far  more  important  is  it  to  produce  good 
work   than   to   bother  ourselves  as  to  whether  our  efforts  are 

149 


GERMAN    MEMORIES 

crowned  with  success  or  not.  I  stand  corrected,  and  listen  with 
pleasure  to  the  lady's  graceful  acknowledgment  of  the  in- 
creasing interest  Bayreuth  excites  in  England.  Like  Cecil 
Rhodes,  Frau  Cosinia  speaks  in  continents,  and  tells  nie  that 
she  is  very  satisfied  with  England  and  America,  of  course  in 
reference  to  Wagner^s  music,  every  other  point  of  view  being 
non-existent.  "  In  England  we  have  some  of  our  best 
friends,"  madame  assures  me.  At  this  moment  a  crowd  of 
ladies  and  gentlemen,  bearing  champagne  glasses  in  their 
hands,  invade  the  room.  Suddenly  these  are  raised  on  high  to 
the  unisono  and  repeated  cry :  "  Siegfried,  Siegfried,  hochy 
hoch ! "  Enthusiasm  has  reached  its  climax  when  Siegfried, 
after  duly  toasting  everybody  present,  rises  and  says  a  few 
graceful  words  of  thanks.  Cigars  and  cigarettes  are  handed 
round,  and  everybody  is  soon  absorbed  in  lively  conversation 
until  the  small  hours  of  the  morning.  For  a  sound  constitution 
is  one  of  the  qualifications  of  a  true  Wagnerian  of  either  sex. 

As  I  go  downstairs  on  my  way  out  I  pass  Countess  K , 

the  prettiest  woman  in  Munich  ;  her  husband  is  putting  a 
priceless  sable  cloak  round  her  shoulders.  Her  face  is  a  dream, 
but  nobody  seems  to  notice  her.  Peerless  beauty,  even  with 
aristocratic  birth  and  bearing  thrown  in,  competes  in  vain 
where  Frau  Meisterin  Cosima  and  her  disciples  award  distinc- 
tion and  favour  according  to  musical  enthusiasm  and  unques- 
tioning devotion. 

Altogether  it  was  an  uplifting  experience,  the  full  signifi- 
cance of  which,  however,  I  only  realised  some  time  afterwards 
when  meeting  an  influential  friend  in  Berlin,  Freiherr  von 
Dincklage,  a  Prussian  General  of  musical  tastes,  who  had 
been  instrumental  in  obtaining  the  erection  of  the  monument 
to  Richard  Wagner  in  the  Berlin  Thiergarten.  He  and  his 
friends  found  the  money,  and  put  up  the  statue  ;  unfortu- 
nately, however,  they  had  neglected  to  assure  themselves  in 
advance  of  Madame  Wagner"'s  consent  and  co-operation,  and 
she  declined  to  sanction  the  project  or  to  have  anything  to  do 
with  it.  This  attitude  was,  of  course,  taken  as  a  cue  by  her 
followers,  and  the  project  fell  flat. 
150 


MUNICH 

I^enbach  spent  many  of  his  evenings  at  the  Artists'  Club, 
the  "  Allotria,"  which,  as  long  as  he  lived,  was  a  centre  of  social 
and  intellectual  intercourse.  He  used  to  wind  up  the  evening 
with  a  game  at  cards  with  a  few  intimate  friends.  In  many 
ways  the  "  Allotria  "  was  expressive  of  the  strong  democratic 
character  of  South  Germany,  which  only  recognises  the  aristo- 
cracy of  talent.  The  club  consisted  of  several  large  rooms  at 
the  back  of  a  beerhouse  in  the  Barer  Strasse.  The  annual 
subscription  was  only  thirty- two  marks,  and  the  membership 
was  supposed  to  be  restricted  to  people  connected  with  art  and 
science — either  writers,  authors,  the  eminent  black  and  white 
artists  of  the  Fliegende  Blatter,  painters,  sculptors,  archi- 
tects, musicians,  and  a  few  professors  of  the  Munich  University. 
An  exception  as  regards  membership  was  made  in  favour  of 
some  prominent  brewer  millionaires — the  Allsopps,  Basses  and 
Guinnesses  of  Bavaria.  They  were  admitted,  but  it  was  under- 
stood that  they  were  not  to  have  a  voice  or  vote  in  the 
administration  of  the  club,  which  was  entirely  confined  to  the 
artistic  element ;  this  in  spite  of  their  wealth  and  capacity  for 
playing  the  part  of  Maecenas.  The  only  privilege  accorded  to 
these  beer  magnates,  I  am  told,  was  that  of  being  allowed  to 
"  endow  "  the  club  now  and  then  on  festive  occasions  with  a 
cask  or  two  of  their  choicest  brews. 

On  the  walls  are  some  drawings,  fanciful  arrangements  of 
artistic  emblems,  and  humorous  caricatures  of  the  more  famous 
members  by  the  renowned  painters,  Lenbach,  Fritz  Kaulbach, 
Franz  Stuck  and  others,  who  all  mixed  at  the  "  Allotria  "  on 
terms  of  perfect  cordiality  with  the  most  unknown  members 
as  long  as  they  could  claim  to  belong  to  the  same  fields  of 
intellectual  endeavour.  The  members  sit  together  at  long 
wooden  tables,  where  the  far-famed  Munich  beer,  at  twopence 
a  pint,  washes  down  the  Spartan  fare.  Everybody  joins  in  the 
conversation,  newcomers  being  introduced  all  round  before 
taking  their  seats. 

Sometimes  visitors — travellers  who  had  anything  interesting 
to  tell — would  give  a  lecture  ;  occasionally  leading  artists  would 
drop  in  late.      A  grand  piano  stood  on  a  platform,  and  some 

151 


GERMAN    MEMORIES 

wonderful  examples  of  extempore  improvisation  were  heard  ; 
moie  attractive  than  conventional  concert  performances. 
Altogether,  I  fancy  more  talent  could  be  met  with  in  one 
evening  in  the  unpretentious  "  Allotria "  than  in  any  similar 
resort  in  other  parts  of  the  world.  Now  and  then,  indeed, 
all  who  were  distinguished  in  art,  letters  and  music,  as  well  as 
strangers  of  note,  might  be  seen  there.  Nansen,  the  Norwegian 
explorer,  was  a  visitor.  The  Bavarian  Princes,  too,  occasionally 
came  as  guests.  In  1892  Bismarck  came  there  with  Lenbach, 
in  memory  of  which  visit  the  tankard  he  drank  out  of  is  still 
kept  as  one  of  the  relics  of  the  club. 

At  the  "  Allotria"  I  met  Herrn  von  Perfall,  Franz  Stuck, 
the  painter  ;  Gabriel  von  Seidl,  the  architect,  a  great  friend 
of  Lenbach ;  Eugen  Wolf,  the  traveller ;  Major  Wissman, 
the  genial  African  explorer,  who  shortly  afterwards  caine  to  a 
premature  end  ;  as  well  as  a  number  of  other  notabilities  in 
the  arts,  drama,  music  and  science. 

One  evening  a  week  Lenbach  would  spend  at  a  "  Kegel "" 
club  to  play  skittles,  where  celebrities  like  Paul  Heyse, 
Gabriel  Seidl  and  others  would  meet  and  associate  with  the 
small  shopkeeper  element  under  the  same  unpretentious  and 
frugal  conditions  as  those  of  the  "  Allotria."  Altogether  these 
experiences  and  memories  are  ineffaceable,  and,  now  that 
Lenbach  is  no  more,  can  have  no  repetition. 


152 


CHAPTER  XIII 

FIEl.D-MARSHAL  BLUMENTHAL 

During  a  stay  in  Berlin  in  the  winter  of  1899—1900  my 
friend  the  late  Heinrich  von  Poschinger  gave  me  an  introduc- 
tion to  Field- Marshal  Count  Blumenthal,  with  whom  I  had 
several  conversations. 

The  three  wars  which  preceded  and  directly  conduced  to 
the  unification  of  Germany  brought  forth  three  Prussian 
strategists  of  the  first  rank,  concerning  whom  military 
opinion  is  now  practically  unanimous  in  declaring  that  each  of 
them  might  have  proved  equal  to  the  great  task  which 
ultimately  fell  to  the  lot  of  the  best  known  of  the  three. 
What  were  the  limits  of  their  capacities,  what  unexplored 
possibilities  of  leadership  might  still  have  been  theirs,  can 
never  be  known,  since  none  of  them  ever  encountered  defeat. 
These  supreme  commanders  of  armed  hosts — sometimes 
popularly  supposed  to  be  men  of  study,  but  in  truth  men  of 
action  of  the  very  sternest  type— were  Generals  von  Moltke, 
von  Goeben,  and  von  Blumenthal. 

General  von  Goeben,  the  youngest  of  the  three,  was  the 
first  to  quit  the  world's  busy  stage  (1880);  Count  Moltke 
died  (1891)  in  his  ninety-first  year  ;  and  Count  Blumenthal 
followed  him  to  rest,  at  the  same  age,  on  December  22, 
1900. 

Although  the  name  of  Blumenthal,  like  many  others  of  a 
floral  signification,  has  a  somewhat  plebeian  sound  in  German, 
the  family  of  the  late  Field-Marshal  is  in  reality  one  of 
the  oldest  in  North  Germany.  When,  late  in  life.  Count 
Blumenthal  was  on  a  visit  in  Rome,  Professor  Theodor 
Mommsen  one  day  bluntly  accosted  him  as  follows  : 

153 


GERMAN     INI  EMORIES 

"  Well,  ExccUenz,  what  are  you  doing  here  ? "" 

"  Why,  to  be  sure,"  Blumenthal  replied,  "  I  am  lookinj^  up 
a  few  niissinf]f  links  of  my  ancestry." 

"  But  what,  if  I  may  ask,  has  your  ancestry  to  do  with 
Rome  ?  " 

"Don't  yon  know,  Herr  Professor,  that  the  IJlunienthals 
are  descended  from  the  Roman  Emperor  Florian  ?  " 

However  this  may  be,  Blumenthals  are  mentioned  in  sundry 
Swiss  chronicles  early  in  the  tenth  century,  and  the  Branden- 
burg estate,  now  in  the  possession  of  the  late  Count  Blunien- 
thal's  daughter,  has  been  in  the  family  ever  since  the  j'car 
1187,  At  five  different  periods  in  German  history  members 
of  the  family  have  been  raised  to  the  dignity  of  Count. 

l^eonhard  von  Blumenthal  was  born  in  Schwedt,  on  the 
Oder,  on  July  30,  1810.  He  was  educated  at  the  military 
cadet  school,  and  entered  the  Prussian  army  on  July  28, 
1827,  as  lieutenant  in  the  Guards  Infantry  Reserve  Regiment 
(the  present  Fusilier  Guards). 

When  Blumenthal  received  his  commission  the  memory  of 
the  battle  of  Waterloo  was  just  twelve  years  old.  Scarcely 
twenty  years  had  elapsed  since  Napoleon — after  crushing  the 
military  power  of  Prussia  in  a  day — rode  through  the 
Brandenburg  Gate,  lifting  his  cocked  hat  above  his  marble 
features  in  response  to  the  acclamations  of  the  fickle  Berlin 
crowd.  Just  as  many  middle-aged  men  are  to  be  met  with  in 
our  time  who  took  part  in  the  victorious  wars  of  1866  and 
1870,  so  in  those  days  a  great  number  had  shared  in  the 
disasters,  and  could  remember  the  humiliation,  of  their 
country.  The  tone  of  the  best  among  them  was  leavened 
with  such  memories. 

Something  had  indeed  been  rotten  in  the  State  ;  but  the 
real  inwardness  of  things  was  only  known  then,  as  always,  to  a 
few.  A  process  akin  to  what  Friedrich  Nietzsche  calls  Eine 
Umzcerthimg  aller  Werihe  (a  reassessment  of  values)  had  been 
going  on  in  tlie  world,  such  a  "  revaluation "  as  is  again 
imperceptibly  taking  place  at  the  present  time,  probably  on  a 
far  more  extensive  scale  than  ever  before.  But  whatever  its 
154 


fnftxuat^  /<906 


FIKLD-MAliSllAL  COUNT   BLLMENTirAI. 


F  I  E  L  D  -  ]M  A  R  S  H  A  L    B  L  U  M  E  N  T  H  A  L 

character — practical,  scientific,  or  spiritual — its  full  signifi- 
cance was  only  gradually  brought  home  to  the  crowd  by  that 
hardest  of  all  taskmasters,  bitter  experience. 

The  Prussian  officer  in  1806 — and  by  the  general  term  I 
mean  principally  that  choitxi  minority  above  referred  to — 
was  wrongly  trained.  He  was  out  of  touch  with  the  modern 
trend  of  affairs  ;  not,  as  is  usually  supposed,  ignorant  of  his 
profession,  or  neglected  in  metital  or  modern  training.  On 
the  contrary,  the  powerful  influence  of  such  men  as  Prince 
Henry  of  Prussia,  Behrcnhorst,  Buelow,  Scharnhorst,  and 
others,  who  formed  the  nucleus  of  the  famous  military  society 
of  Berlin,  had  prepared  and  kept  the  intellectual  forces  of  the 
army  far  and  wide  on  the  alert.  The  military  profession, 
besides  possessing  a  somewhat  pedantic  knowledge  of  strategy 
and  tactics,  was  as  familiar  with  the  philosophic  writings  of 
Kant  as  with  those  of  Rousseau  and  Voltaire  ;  and  no  Prussian 
officer,  a  hundred  years  ago,  would  have  been  able  to  move 
freely  in  society  had  he  been  totally  unacquainted  with  the 
ideas  they  contain. 

In  the  zenith  of  the  intellectual  life  of  Germany,  when  a 
serious  interest  in  philosophy  and  letters  prevailed  as  never 
before  and  perhaps  not  since,  it  was  impossible  for  the  Prus- 
sian army  to  remain  in  a  state  of  ignorance  or  indifference. 
The  military  profession,  however  much  it  may  have  formed 
a  castle  of  aristocratic  birth  within  itself,  was,  as  regards  the 
cultivation  of  the  mind,  of  the  same  flesh  and  blood  as  the 
best  of  the  nation,  and  subsequent  events  have  proved  that 
this  was  so.  The  elite,  among  whom  were  Clausewitz, 
Grolman,  Muffling,  Gneisenau,  Boyen,  the  two  Scholers,  and 
others,  who,  after  Jena,  were  mainly  instrumental  in  re- 
organising the  national  forces  of  the  country,  were  themselves 
the  natural  outcome  of  this  unobtrusive,  but  serious,  in- 
tellectual life,  towards  which  each,  unknown  to  the  ignorant 
crowd,  silently  contributed  his  share.  They  formed  a  body 
of  hard-working,  earnest  thinkers,  who  proved  themselves 
capable  of  uniting  a  remarkable  capacity  for  deeds  of  action 
with    the     highest    intellectual    attainments.        This     is    the 

155 


GERMAN     MEMORIES 

paramount  claim  to  glory  of  the  best  blood  and  brain  of  the 
Prussian  army,  and  as  such,  in  the  opinion  of  some  qualified 
judges,  far  excels  its  achievements  in  recent  wars.  Many  have 
suffered  defeat,  and  have  afterwards  secured  afresh  the  laurel 
of  victory,  but  it  is  questionable  whether  history  can  show  so 
widely  spread  an  example  of  high  culture  and  conduct  com- 
bined as  prevailed  in  the  Prussian  army  when  Lieutenant  von 
Blumenthal  joined  the  colours. 

Promotion  was  very  slow  at  that  time,  and  the  life  of  a 
young  subaltern,  although  he  was  not  so  much  burdened  with 
routine  work  as  now,  was  one  continuous  spell  of  Spartan 
discipline  and  self-denial,  without  much  visible  prospect  of 
recognition  or  future  advancement.  The  monthly  pay  of  a 
Prussian  lieutenant  was  19  thalers  22^  silbergroschen,  supple- 
mented by  various  allowances  amounting  to  2  thalers  5 
silbergroschen,  a  total  of  21  thalers  27^  silbergroschen  :  in 
English  coin — without,  however,  taking  note  of  the  difference  in 
the  purchasing  power  of  money  seventy  years  ago  and  to-day — 
exactly  £3  5s.  9d.  Of  the  above  amount,  fifteen  shillings 
were  devoted  to  the  clothing  fund,  one  shilling  went  for  club 
subscription,  one  shilling  for  the  regimental  fund,  one  shilling 
for  library  subscription,  one  shilling  towards  the  regimental 
band,  and,  on  an  average,  eighteen  shillings  towards  the  cost 
of  the  mess  dinner. 

So  great  w-as  the  impoverishment  of  the  country  generally, 
and  of  the  smaller  nobility  in  particular,  that  private  sources 
of  income,  when  they  existed,  were  of  very  little  account. 
Few  indeed  of  the  artillery  or  engineer  officers  possessed 
any  private  means,  and,  even  among  those  more  fortunately 
situated,  any  so-called  "  home  allowance  "  (except  in  the  case 
of  the  Guards  and  cavalry  regiments)  ceased  as  soon  as  the 
rank  of  captain  was  attained.  A  captain,  with  an  income  of 
.^'l  0  a  month,  was  looked  upon  by  dowagers  as  a  fair  match. 

As  lately  as  1860  the  average  extra  home  allowance  of 
a  Prussian  subaltern  was  as  follows  : 

In  the  infantry  of  the  line,  between  15s.  and  £1  10s.  a 
month  ;  in  the  infantry  of  the  Guards,  £^  5s.  a  month  ;  in 
156 


FIELD-MARSHAL    ELUMENTHAL 

the  cavalry  regiment,  £3  15s.   to  £4<    10s.  a  month  ;  and  in 
the   cavalry  of  the  Guards,  at  most,  £1    10s.  a  month. 

Even  in  the  Guards  the  mode  of  living  was  very  simple. 
An  officer  who  could  indulge  in  a  hot  supper  was  looked  upon 
as  a  wealthy  man.  Many  Prussian  officers  had  to  be  satisfied 
with  a  cup  of  tea  or  a  glass  of  beer,  which  they  took  in  their 
poorly  furnished,  uncarpeted,  low-ceilinged,  but  scrupulously 
clean,  quarters,  with  the  brown  ration  bread,  often  without  the 
addition  of  butter.  Wine  was  only  to  be  thought  of  on  special 
occasons,  except  in  the  Rhenish  garrisons,  where  its  cheapness 
was  such  that  sixpennyworth  was  sufficient  to  lead  half-way 
towards  intoxication.  It  was  nothing  unusual  to  find  officers, 
whose  families  figured  among  the  elect  of  the  Almanach  de 
Gotha,  after  dining  for  something  like  sixpence  at  the 
officers'"  mess,  denying  themselves  a  cup  of  coffee,  the  price 
of  which  would  hardly  exceed  one  penny. 

Outside  the  regular  routine  of  duty  there  were  few  oppor- 
tunities for  relaxation  or  pleasure.  Betting,  gambling, 
horse-racing,  and  other  forms  of  exciting  sport,  such  as  are 
now  intruding  more  and  more  into  the  Prussian  army  in  large 
garrison  towns,  where  the  wealthy  officer  already  comes  in 
for  a  certain  amount  of  notoriety  and  popularity,  were 
unknown.  As  yet  the  present  custom  of  officers  congregating 
in  the  evening  at  public  restaurants  did  not  exist.  The 
hospitality  afforded  by  family  life  of  a  simple  and  refined 
kind  possessed  greater  attractions  to  the  subaltern  in  those 
times  than  in  our  quick-living  age.  An  occasional  visit  to 
a  theatre — preferably  on  a  Sunday  evening — where  officers 
were  admitted  at  half-price,  was  about  the  only  expensive 
luxury  permitted. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  routine  duties  of  an  officer  were  not 
of  a  very  exacting  nature — at  all  events,  not  to  the  Prussian 
temperament — although  they  involved  being  up  and  about 
at  five  in  the  morning  for  the  personal  supervision  of  recruit 
drill.  Three  to  five  hours'  work  in  the  morning  and  an  hour 
and  a  half  in  the  afternoon  comprised  the  day's  routine, 
which,  in  many  cases,  notably  with  such  men  as  Blumenthal, 

167 


GERMAN    MEMORIES 

was  supplemented  by  hard  study,  voluntarily  undertaken  in 
spare  time.  It  was  usual  for  two,  or  even  three,  subalterns 
to  live  and  work  together,  in  order  to  share  the  expense  of  fire, 
light,  and  attendance. 

Such  were  the  conditions  under  which  Blumenthal,  like 
his  contemporaries  since  known  to  fame — von  Roon,  von 
Moltke,  von  Steinmetz,  and  many  others  who  had  no  private 
means — managed  to  live  and  work  hard  for  long  years  without 
getting  into  debt.  That  they  were  able  to  do  so — even  with- 
out as  much  as  a  feeling  of  hardship  being  involved  in  the  process 
— was  mainly  due  to  the  esprit  de  corps  which  prevailed  in  the 
army  at  the  time.  Men  whose  womenkind  only  a  few  years 
previously  had  willingly  sacrificed  every  piece  of  their  jewellery 
to  the  needs  of  their  country,  many  of  them  wearing  wedding- 
rings  of  iron  for  those  of  gold,  which  they  had  placed  in  the 
national  offertory,  were  not  likely  to  feel  the  lack  of  wealth 
and  luxury  as  a  hardship.  And  what  besides  combined  to 
produce  a  feeling  almost  amounting  to  disdain  for  money 
was  the  conviction,  which  had  been  inculcated  by  Clausewitz 
and  Scharnhorst  and  had  gradually  grown  into  a  dogma,  that 
only  by  Spartan  simplicity  of  life  could  those  military  virtues 
be  fostered  upon  which  depended  the  efficiency  of  the  army 
and  the  fate  of  the  country  itself. 

The  marriage  of  an  officer,  under  such  circumstances,  except 
to  a  lady  with  some  means  of  her  own,  was  obviously  an 
impossibility.  In  the  year  1839  Lieutenant  von  Blumenthal, 
after  twelve  years'  service,  wedded  an  English  girl  named 
Delicia  Vyner,  from  Easthorpe,  in  "Warwickshire,  to  whom  he 
remained  devotedly  attached  through  life.  He  was,  like 
Moltke,  very  proud  of  his  English  wife,  as  well  as  of  his 
knowledge  of  the  English  language. 

"  In  my  younger  days,"*'  he  assured  me,  "  I  spoke  English 
so  fluently  that,  although  you  might  have  been  uncertain  of 
the  county  I  hailed  from,  you  would  scarcely  have  doubted  that 
I  was  English." 

Unfortunately,  however,  domestic  happiness  can  hardly  have 
tended  to  improve  Blumenthars  pecuniary  and  professional 
158 


FIELD-MARSHAL    BLUMENTHAL 

prospects;  for  he  himself  told  me  that,  in  the  year  1848, 
after  having  served  twenty-one  years  as  a  subaltern,  he 
seriously  contemplated  leaving  the  army  in  order  to  emigrate 
to  England — a  country  for  which,  in  common  with  so  many  of 
his  class  and  caste  at  that  period,  he  had  a  strong  partiality — 
with  the  intention  of  earning  a  livelihood  as  a  teacher  of  the 
German  lamj-uage.  The  outbreak  of  the  revolution  in  Berlin 
in  1 848  caused  him  to  change  his  mind,  by  drawing  the 
attention  of  the  military  authorities  towards  him  and  so 
laying  the  foundation  of  his  future  brilliant  career. 

As  among  the  blind  the  one-eyed  is  king,  so  in  the  midst 
of  the  general  helplessness — almost  amounting  to  downright 
pusillanimity — which,  in  consequence  of  the  hesitating  atti- 
tude of  the  King  of  Prussia,  then  prevailed  in  executive  circles 
in  Berlin,  a  single  trait  of  timely  decision  on  the  part  of 
Lieutenant  von  Blumenthal,  backed,  of  course,  by  his  excellent 
record  of  service,  proved  to  be  sufficient  to  decide  his  future. 
The  insurgents,  in  an  outlying  district  of  the  town,  known  as 
the  Rehberg,  intended  to  make  an  advance  upon  the  Thier- 
gartc7iA  Blumenthal  was  ordered  to  keep  the  Rehbergers 
off,  but  he  was  not  to  open  fire  on  the  mob.  Still  he 
unhesitatingly  ordered  his  men  to  load  with  ball  cartridge,  and 
to  shoot  "  at  sight "  should  the  Rehbergers  show  them- 
selves. I  believe  that  it  turned  out  to  be  unnecessary  to 
resort  to  extreme  measures,  but  Blumenthal's  quick  decision, 
as  well  as  the  excellent  disposition  of  his  troops  to  meet  the 
emergency,  had  been  noted  by  his  superior  officers.  He  was 
shortly  afterwards  promoted  captain,  and  at  once  attached  to 
the  general  staff,  that  complicated  brain-centre  of  the 
Prussian  army  and  stepping-stone  to  further  advancement. 

In  the  same  year — still  as  a  junior  captain  on  the  general 
staff — he  was  attached  to  the  staff  of  General  von  Bonin  in 
the  Schleswig-Holstein  campaign,  and  distinguished  himself  at 
Kolding  and  Fridericia.  On  his  return  to  Berlin  he  spent 
several  years  with  the  general  staff,  during  which  he  was 
entrusted  with  various  military  missions  to  England.  In 
1  The  Hyde  Park  of  Berlin. 

159 


GERMAN    MEMORIES 

1858  he  was  appointed  aide-de-camp  to  Prince  Frederick 
Charles,  who  was  destined  to  play  a  leading  part  in  the 
reorganisation  of  the  Prussian  army.  After  this  had  been 
successfully  carried  out  (in  I860),  Blumenthal  was  promoted 
Colonel  and  Commander  of  the  11th  Thuringian  Regiment. 
In  February  18G3  he  was  again  brought  into  close  contact 
with  Prince  Frederick  Charles,  on  being  appointed  chief  of  the 
staff  of  the  3rd  Corps,  but  in  December  of  the  same  year  he 
was  transferred  to  be  chief  of  the  general  staff  of  the 
composite  army  corps  in  Schleswig-Holstein,  during  the  war 
with  Denmark. 

In  this  position  Blumenthal  attracted  attention  by  his 
well-matured  and  successful  operations,  as  well  as  by  the 
boldness  of  his  conceptions,  the  most  important  of  which  was 
his  avoidance  of  a  direct  attack  on  the  trenches  of  Diippel  by 
crossing  the  Sound  to  Alsen  in  pontoon  boats.  This  project, 
however,  although  approved  by  the  King,  and  definitely  fixed 
for  the  2nd  of  April,  was  rendered  impossible  by  the  stormy 
weather,  which  upset  all  calculations.  The  published  mili- 
tary correspondence  of  Count  Moltke  shows  clearly  that 
Blumenthars  great  colleague  fully  and  generously  approved  of 
his  daring  scheme,  which  he  considered  "  would  alone  have 
brought  about  a  satisfactory  end  of  the  campaign,  as  it  would 
have  led  to  the  annihilation  of  the  enemy's  forces."  He  wrote 
to  Blumenthal :  "  Do  not  let  yourself  be  discouraged  by  the 
frustration  of  your  daring  plan.  It  might  have  turned  out 
more  favourably,  but  not  less  so.  Like  Philip  the  Second,  with 
his  armada,  you  could  not  send  out  your  pontoons  against  the 
elements."  Notwithstanding  the  non-execution  of  Blumen- 
thars idea,  its  conception  was  still  placed  to  his  credit  at 
headquarters,  and  marked  him  out  for  future  work  of  the  most 
responsible  kind. 

At  the  outbreak  of  the  war  in  1866  Blumenthal  was 
appointed  chief  of  the  general  staff  of  the  Silesian,  or  second 
army,  under  the  command  of  the  Crown  Prince,  in  which 
position  his  eminent  services — particularly  at  the  battles  of 
Nachod  and  Koniggriitz — -are  mattei's  of  history. 
160 


F  I  E  L  D  -  M  A  R  S  H  A  L    B  L  U  M  E  N  T  H  A 1. 

The  intimate  relationship,  which  existed  until  death, 
between  the  Crown  Prince  and  Blumenthal  had  already  taken 
root  during  the  Danish  War;  but  in  the  campaign  of  1866 
it  was  indissolubly  strengthened.  The  Crown  Prince  was 
incapable  of  jealousy.  He  did  not  consider  himself  a  pro- 
fessional soldier,  and  Blumenthal  was  indispensable  to  him. 
He  it  was  who  thought  out  and  drafted  every  general  order 
and  instruction,  whilst  the  Crown  Prince  took  a  keen  pleasure 
in  watching  the  successful  activity  of  his  chief  of  the  staff. 

Blumenthal  originated  the  much-discussed  but  brilliant  line 
of  advance  which  led  to  the  victorious  march  of  the  second 
army  into  Bohemia,  although  the  credit  of  this  successful 
operation  must  be  shared  by  the  Cro^vn  Prince,  who  took  upon 
himself  the  responsibility  of  supporting  it.  This  Blumenthal 
himself  was  the  first  to  recognise,  for  according  to  his  own 
words  :  "  We  were  merely  soldatesca,  and  only  risked  our 
skins  ;  he  staked  the  existence  of  his  country  and  his  future 
crown  on  the  result."  The  plan  was  submitted  to  Moltke, 
who  thoroughly  approved  of  it,  merely  adding,  "  Make  sure 
of  correct  and  efficient  leadership." 

The  campaign  of  Bohemia  brought  Blumenthal's  name  more 
than  ever  to  the  front ;  and  yet,  had  it  not  been  for  the 
grateful  devotion  of  tlie  Crown  Prince,  that  war  might  well 
have  marked  the  end  of  his  military  career,  as,  indeed,  it 
practically  did  that  of  several  other  high  officers.  For,  unlike 
Moltke,  Blumenthal  possessed  some  of  the  defects  of  a  vivid, 
spontaneous  temperament.  A  few  days  after  Sadowa  he  had 
written  a  long  letter,  in  English,  to  his  wife,  and  forwarded  it 
by  the  Prussian  field-post.  This  was  intercepted  by  the 
Austrians,  and  a  German  translation  published  in  the  Vienna 
papers.  In  this  letter  Blumenthal — in  the  uncompromising 
spirit  of  one  artist  towards  the  work  of  another — severely 
criticised   the   plans  of  General   Moltke,^  commented  adversely 

1  The  history  of  Prussia  supplies  another  curious  instance  of  a  ruthless 
critical  instinct  prevailing  between  two  great  military  leaders.  To  Prince 
Henry,  the  renowned  brother  of  Frederick  the  Great,  the  latter's  military 
genius  was  nothing  more  tliau  an  undue  eagerness  to  give  battle. 

L  161 


GERMAN    MEMORIES 

On  the  personality  of  Prince  Frederick  Charles,  and  wound  up 
with  a  complaint  against  the  Crown  Prince  himself:  "  What 
a  pity  that  he  is  never  punctual,  that  he  keeps  us  waiting  for 
hours  ! " 

This  was  indeed  a  heinous  offence  in  the  Prussian  service, 
and  would  unquestionably  have  led  to  BlumenthaPs  disgrace, 
in  spite  of  all  his  previous  services,  had  he  not,  in  addition  to 
the  tried  friendship  of  the  Crown  Prince,  possessed  that 
traditional  good  luck  which,  according  to  Moltke,  is,  in  the 
long  run,  only  given  to  the  "  fit."  Prince  Frederick  Charles, 
the  sternest  of  disciplinarians,  was  no  sooner  informed  of 
Blumenthal's  unfortunate  letter — one  morning  he  found  a 
newspaper  containing  it  lying  on  his  desk — than  he  took  horse 
in  a  very  ugly  temper,  and  rode  straight  to  the  King's  head- 
quarters, with  the  evident  intention  of  securing  Blumenthal's 
punishment.  Fortunately  for  the  latter  the  Crown  Prince  had 
already  forestalled  his  accuser.  He  was  closeted  with  his  father 
and  had  succeeded  in  securing  the  pardon  of  his  friend.  On 
leaving  the  King,  he  met  Prince  Frederick  Charles  in  the  ante- 
chamber, and,  walking  up  to  his  cousin,  said  good-temperedly : 

"  I  can  tell  you  a  piece  of  news,  which  will  afford  you  as 
much  pleasure  as  it  gives  me  to  be  able  to  tell  it  to  you.  The 
King  has  forgiven  General  Blumenthal  his  thoughtless  letter." 

This  forgiveness,  however,  was  made  dependent  upon  one 
condition :  Blumenthal  must  apologise  in  person  to  General 
von  Moltke.  It  is  said  that  Moltke — like  Caesar,  who,  both 
after  Pharsalia  and  Thapsus,  caused  the  incriminating  letijers 
of  the  Roman  senators,  found  in  the  enemy's  camp,  to  be 
burnt  unread — declined  to  read  BlumenthaPs  letter  when  it 
was  brought  to  his  notice.  Certain  it  is  that  when  Blumenthal, 
as  in  duty  bound,  called  upon  him,  Moltke  cut  his  apology 
short  with  the  graceful  words  :  "  My  dear  Blumenthal,  what 
a  man  writes  to  his  wife  is  no  concern  of  third  persons.  Let 
our  intercourse  remain  as  friendly  as  of  yore."  Blumenthal, 
however,  must  have  felt  rather  sore,  for,  on  leaving  Moltke 
and  meeting  the  late  Prince  Kraft  von  Hohenlohe  in  the  street, 
he  related  what  had  taken  place,  adding,  "This  is  the  only 
162 


FIELD    MARSHAL    BLUMENTHAL 

time  that  crusty  old  chap  has  really  won  my  admiration.'" 
But  years  afterwards  he  openly  expressed  his  sense  of  Molke's 
chivalrous  conduct,  without  any  qualifying  clause. 

Blumenthars  share  in  the  war  of  1870-71,  in  which  he 
again  filled  the  responsible  position  of  chief  of  the  staff"  of 
the  Crown  Prince,  is  also  a  matter  of  history.  His  were  the 
first  victories  at  Weissenburg  and  Woerth,  which  proved  to  be 
of  the  very  greatest  military — as  well  as  political — import- 
ance. The  victory  at  Sedan  also  depended  in  no  small  degree 
upon  the  perfect  co-operation  of  the  third  army,  which  was 
essentially  the  work  of  Blumenthal. 

After  the  war  Blumenthal  was  appointed  to  the  command 
of  the  fourth  army  corps,  and  in  1883  was  raised  to  the 
dignity  of  Count.  In  the  year  1888,  on  coming  to  the 
throne,  the  Emperor  Frederick  appointed  him  Field-Marshal, 
and,  as  if  in  anticipation  of  his  approaching  end,  sent  Blum- 
enthal his  own  marshal's  baton,  so  that  he  might,  whilst  still 
living,  feel  that  he  had  honoured  to  the  full  the  man  who  had 
stood  by  his  side  on  many  a  hard-fought  field.  The  Emperor 
Frederick  knew — and  he  probably  alone — of  a  signal  proof  of 
unselfish  devotion  which  Blumenthal  had  given  years  before  to 
his  chief.  It  was  towards  the  end  of  the  seventies,  and  a 
war  with  Russia  was  among  the  possible  contingencies.  One 
day  the  Emperor  William  was  talking  matters  over  with  his 
son,  and  told  him  that  in  the  event  of  war  he  could  not  again 
let  him  have  Blumenthal  as  his  adviser,  as  the  latter  had  a 
paramount  claim  to  an  independent  command.  The  Emperor 
asked  the  Crown  Prince  to  find  out  what  Blumenthal  himself 
thought  on  the  subject.  Blumenthal,  on  being  questioned  by 
the  Crown  Prince,  replied  that  he  would  be  quite  content  to 
serve  again  under  His  Imperial  Highness.  With  him  he  had 
always  been  able  to  lead  the  army  to  victory,  but  whether  he 
would  be  able  to  do  so  as  an  independent  connnander  was  a 
matter  for  less  confidence. 

Blumenthal  remained  on  the  active  list  until  April  1, 
1898,  when,  after  having  held  the  general  inspectorship 
of    the   German   army,    one    of  the   highest   positions  in   the 

163 


GERMAN    MEMORIES 

military  hierarchy,  he  received  permission  to  retire.  He  had 
belonged  to  the  army  for  nearly  sixty  years — except  in  the 
cases  of  Moltke,  Wrangel,  and  the  Emperor  William,  the 
longest  space  of  time  a  Prussian  officer  had  ever  continued  in 
the  army  on  active  service.  He  retired  into  private  life,  loaded 
with  honours  by  his  sovereign  and  universally  exalted  by  his 
countrymen. 

About  a  year  before  his  death  he  was  living  in  a  flat  on 
the  ground  floor  in  one  of  the  large  mansions  of  the  Alsen 
Strasse,  Berlin,  almost  within  sight  of  that  huge  square  build- 
ing known  as  the  Great  General  Stafl*.  Nothing  could  have 
been  more  unpretentious  than  the  surroundings  of  this 
illustrious  old  soldier,  or  more  engaging  than  his  natural, 
unconstrained  simplicity  of  manner. 

"  It  is  now  close  upon  eighty  years  that  I  have  worn  the 
King's  coat,"  ^  he  said,  laying  his  hand  upon  his  chest,  on  which, 
suspended  from  the  neck,  shone  the  blue  enamel  cross  of  the 
"  Ordre  pour  le  Meritc,''''  as  if  to  emphasise  the  idea  that 
this  very  same  undress  uniform  was  practically  the  identical 
one  he  had  worn  all  his  life. 

Count  Blumenthal  complained  to  me  that  he  found  more 
difficulty  than  of  old  in  mastering  quickly  the  contents  of 
a  book.  "  But  I  take  it  to  be  one  of  the  compensations 
of  old  age  that  I  think  more  slowly  than  formerly."  How- 
ever, I  soon  discovered  that  he  was  still  able  to  think  clearly, 
as  also  to  give  terse  and  incisive  expression  to  his  thought. 

He  spoke  with  a  touch  of  tenderness  of  the  Emperor 
Frederick,  and  bitterly  deplored  his  untimely  end.  "  Had  he 
lived,"  continued  the  faithful  champion  of  the  dead  monarch, 
*'  he  would  have  contented  all  but  those  whom  it  is  impossible 
to  satisfy,  for  he  never  thought  of  himself.  His  pride  and  his 
ambition  were  of  a  kind  that  would  not  have  wronged  or  given 
pain  to  anybody.  No  man  was  ever  more  misjudged.  He 
was  accused  of  vacillation.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  a  certain 
form    of  hesitancy  which   characterised   him    was  mainly  the 

1  Blumenthal  entered  the  cadet  school,  in  which  nailitary  uniforms  are 
worn,  in  his  tenth  year.     He  was  in  his  ninetieth  year  on  the  above  occasion. 

164 


FIELD    MARSHAL    BLUMENTHAL 

result  of  over-anxiety  to  do  the  right  thing  for  others,  never 
for  himself.  Once,  however,  his  mind  was  made  up  on  an 
important  matter,  he  was  as  firm  of  purpose  as  his  father — 
nothing  could  sway  him." 

The  old  brain-fighter  was  not  particularly  edified  by  the 
general  trend  of  things  in  Germany  and  of  military  affairs 
in  particular.  "  We  are  being  far  too  much  governed  all 
round,"  he  said.  "  It  has  become  the  fashion  to  decry  every- 
thing that  is  old — us  old  men  included.  General  von  Versen 
came  to  see  me  one  day  some  years  ago  (1890).  He  was 
evidently  a  mouthpiece  of  the  views  prevailing  in  high 
quarters,  and  spoke  disparagingly  of  the  old  generals  in  our 
army.  In  the  course  of  our  conversation  he  said,  '  Just  look 
at  the  First  Napoleon.  His  generals  were  all  young  men."' 
'  Yes,"  I  replied^  '  they  were  young  men.  And  almost  all 
of  them  were  no  good  {Jiabcn  nichts  getangi?).  We  old 
fellows  did  our  work  much  better  than  they,  for  I  make  bold 
to  say  there  was  not  one  of  us  whom  you  could  have  picked 
out  as  the  cause  of  a  disaster.**  And  General  von  Versen  was 
unable  to  gainsay  this." 

The  old  soldier,  once  launched  on  the  topic  nearest  his 
heart,  gave  frank  expression  to  his  views. 

"  You  cannot  produce  soldiers  by  cramming  alone  :  you  can 
only  nurture  up  to  a  certain  point,  by  means  of  systematic 
instruction,  what  is  innate  in  a  man  in  the  way  of  military 
instinct,  character  and  capacity  for  independent  judgment. 
There  is  too  much  book-learning  and  book-writing  nowadays. 
Our  military  men  are  far  too  ready  with  their  pens.  Literary 
success  does  not  necessarily  imply  the  capacity  to  lead  an 
army. 

"  Moltke's  greatest  achievement  was  that  he  made  it 
humanly  possible  to  lead  large  armies,  such  as  Napoleon  first 
raised  without  possessing  the  machinery  for  controlling  them  : 
hence  his  disasters.  This  machinery  Moltke  created.  He 
devised  an  organisation  which  worked  so  perfectly  and 
independently  that  such  things  as  orders  from  the  supreme 
command  were  very  rare  in  our  wars — only  general  directions 

165 


GERMAN    MEMORIES 

were  needed.  Ilius,  in  our  invasion  of  France  in  1870, 
Moltke  sent  us  word  that  the  King  wanted  the  left  wing 
of  our  army  to  advance  on  the  south  side  of  Strasburg.  I 
replied  that  this  would  be  a  mistake,  and  that  I  could  only 
carry  out  such  an  order  if  imperatively  commanded  to  do  so. 
Moltke  sent  General  xon  Verdy  to  talk  the  matter  over  and 
my  view  prevailed. 

"  To-day  the  danger  of  a  false  move,  and  consequent 
disaster,  is  very  much  increased.  The  telegraph  is  in  so  much 
more  general  use  than  even  in  1870  that  one  person  might 
well  be  tempted  to  want  to  control  everything  himself.  This 
would  tend  to  eliminate  that  play  of  independent  judgment  in 
a  chief  of  the  staff  which  has  worked  so  successfully  with  us  in 
the  past.  But  it  is  not  given  to  anybody  to  overlook  and 
direct  everything.'''' 

With  resrard  to  more  recent  events  the  Field-Marshal  said 
that  he  had  followed  the  course  of  the  war  in  South  Africa  as 
well  as  he  was  able  to  do  from  the  papers,  and,  with  all 
admiration  for  the  British  soldier,  he  did  not  think  the 
methods  and  tactics  of  the  leaders  were  very  different  from 
what  they  had  been  in  the  time  of  Marlborough.  He 
believed  that  the  introduction  of  the  modern  rifle  had 
sounded  the  knell  of  the  superiority  of  the  British  infantry, 
an  opinion  already  expressed  many  years  ago  by  General 
Sir  Charles  Napier.^  "  The  English  character,"  in  Count 
Blumenthal's  opinion,  "  is  more  suited  to  the  old  condition 
of  things  than  to  that  prevailing  at  present.  The  French 
originally  introduced  modern  tirailleur  tactics,  which,  in 
consequence  of  the  continual  improvement  in  firearms,  have 
now  reached  a  very  high  development.  It  is,  besides,  a  mode 
of  fighting  eminently  suited  to  the  national  character  of  the 
French.'     With  military  matters,  it  is  as  with  everything  else  ; 

1  See  Dpfects  of  Indian  Government,  by  General  Sir  Charles  Napier,  G.C.B. 

2  I  subsequently  mentioned  this  remark  to  Count  Alexander  Vitzthum  ron 
Eckstiidt,  who  was  Commander  of  the  twelfth  army  corps '  (Saxon)  at  the 
time,  and  reputed  to  be  one  of  the  best  strategists  of  the  German  army. 
I  also  communicated  to  him  a  further  observation  of  Count  Blumenthal's  ; 
namely,   that   the   revolution  of  tactics   which  has  been   brought   about  by 

166 


FIELD-MARSHAL    BLUMENTHAL 

you  cannot  adopt  blindly  the  methods  of  other  countries 
merely  because  you  see  they  are  successful  elsewhere.  Very 
often  they  are  more  or  less  the  outcome  of  national  character, 
of  geographical  or  of  social  conditions,  as,  for  instance,  the 
Swiss  rifle  corps  system,  which  cannot  be  transplanted. 

"  We  adopted  the  tirailleur  system  of  fighting  from  the 
French,  but  we  have  still  much  to  learn  in  its  practice.  The 
Boers  excel  in  it.  The  English  are  splendid  fellows,  but  their 
one  idea  seems  to  be  to  shoot  and  be  shot.  Their  officers  are 
not  sufficiently  trained.  We  Prussians  go  to  the  other 
extreme.  The  plodding  bookworm  gets  ahead  too  often  now. 
In  my  time  our  people  received  a  sound  scientific  training,  but 
the  individual — the  personality — was,  after  all,  the  finally 
deciding  element ;  hence  our  results." 

Blumenthal  was,  at  first  sight,  not  striking  in  appearance. 
He  was  slight,  not  above  medium  height,  and  even  when  in 
the  prime  of  life  is  said  to  have  carried  his  head  bent  slightly 
forward.  He  was  also  rather  negligent  and  unmilitary  in  his 
outward  bearing,  at  least,  according  to  strict  Prussian 
notions. 

One  day  at  Versailles,  in  1870,  the  Emperor  William  met 
him  on  the  staircase  wearing  one  of  his  recently  received  grand 
crosses  fastened  all  awry  over  the  wrong  shoulder,  quite  a 
serious  breach  of  etiquette.  The  Emperor  pointed  it  out  to 
him,  adding  good-humouredly  :  "  Never  mind,  Blumenthal ;  I 

the  latest  developments  of  quick-firing  infantry  rifles  is  calculated  to  give 
the  French  an  advantage  over  the  Germans,  inasmuch  as  it  calls  for  greater 
initiative  on  the  part  of  the  individual  soldier,  a  gift  which  is  possessed  in  an 
eminent  degree  by  the  French.  He  replied  that  there  was  undoubtedly  a  great 
deal  of  truth  in  this  opinion  of  the  Field  Marshal ;  on  the  other  hand,  the 
looseness  of  formation  which  was  a  necessary  corollary  of  modern  tactics 
tended  to  the  weakening  of  the  military  units  {Verbaende)  and  a  consequent 
loss  of  touch  of  the  ofiBcers  with  their  men.  This  would  increase  the  chances 
of  panic  to  which  the  French,  in  spite  of  their  great  fighting  qualities,  were 
very  liable.  To  my  rejoinder  that  the  Boers  had  fought  successfully  under 
these  modern  conditions,  he  replied  that  this  case  could  not  be  laken  as  a 
normal  one.  Peasants  who  fight  for  their  hearth  and  home,  particularly 
peasants  of  such  a  sturdy  race  as  the  Dutch,  possess  far  tougher  fighting 
qualities  than  most  armies. 

167 


GERMAN    MEMORIES 

can   well    understand   that    you   have   no   time  to   look   after 
yourself,  for  you  have  always  looked  after  us  so  well." 

Blumenthars  countenance  revealed  very  much  the  same 
indications  of  intellectuality  which  were  so  noticeable  in 
that  of  his  eminent  comrade-in-arms,  Count  Moltke.  His 
eyes  were  of  a  penetrating,  expressive  blue,  clear  and  un- 
dimmed  even  in  his  ninetieth  year.  His  strong  features, 
particularly  the  prominent  nose,  indicated  the  force  of  charac- 
ter which  he  possessed  in  so  eminent  a  degree.  There  were 
in  that  serious  yet  kindly  looking  face  the  clear  traces  of 
those  qualities  which  go  to  make  up  great  military  leaders. 
"  Cetait,  apres  tout,  de  la  pate  dont  on  fait  les  grands 
genlranx.''''  One  who  served  under  him,  and  who  himself 
attained  high  distinction  in  his  profession,  the  late  General 
von  Verdy  du  Vernois,  thus  describes  Blumenthal : 

"  He  possessed  in  an  eminent  degree  the  highest  qualifi- 
cations of  a  military  leader :  quick  discernment  of  the  require- 
ments of  the  situation,  rapidity  and  boldness  in  deciding  what 
to  do,  and  utmost  caie  in  the  consideration  of  every  detail. 
Unbiassed  in  forming  his  opinion,  he  was  never  swayed  by 
outside  influences  of  any  kind.  He  always  accepted  the  fullest 
responsibility  for  himself,  and  threw  the  whole  weight  of  his 
personality  into  whatever  lay  before  him.  Even  in  the  most 
critical  moments  on  the  field  of  battle  he  retained  his  calm 
appreciation  of  the  situation.  Although  his  temperament 
disposed  him  to  daring  actior  he  never  omitted  to  weigh 
most  carefully  every  possible  contingency  beforehand.  No 
contretemps  could  shake  his  determination.  It  was  a  pleasure 
to  serve  under  his  orders." 


168 


CHAPTER  XIV 
KING  CHARLES  OF  ROUMANIA 

On  my  way  back  from  Constantinople  after  the  Greco-Turkish 
War,  in  the  summer  of  1897,  I  stopped  at  Bucharest  and 
spent  an  evening  at  the  house  of  Demeter  Stourdza,  the  Prime 
Minister  of  Roumania.  Two  of  the  Stourdza  family  had  been 
my  schoolfellows  at  Dresden,  and  I  had  made  the  Minister's 
acquaintance  earlier  in  the  year  in  Vienna.  The  salon  of 
Madame  Stourdza,  nee  Princess  Cantacuzene,^  was  at  that  time 
the  centre  of  the  social  and  intellectual  life  of  the  Roumanian 
capital.  There  was  open  house  every  evening  after  nine 
o'clock,  when  diplomatists,  soldiers,  and  politicians  dropped  in 
promiscuously  to  discuss  the  news  of  the  day  and  sun  them- 
selves in  the  favour  of  the  fascinating  mistress  of  the  house ; 
grande  dame  de  par  le  mo7ide,  and  a  keen  politician  as  well. 
The  Prime  Minister  himself  was  rarely  to  be  met  there,  except 
for  a  few  fugitive  moments,  immersed  as  he  was  in  State  busi- 
ness or  buried  in  his  capacious  library  among  his  books.  In 
fact,  he  occasionally  slept  with  them  at  night  on  a  cane  sofii 
covered  with  rugs,  being  a  voracious  reader  and  a  voluminous 
writer.  It  was  to  this  library  that  I  adjourned  with  him. 
In  the  course  of  conversation  the  Prime  Minister  presented  me 
with  the  first  volume  of  the  German  edition  of  the  King  of 
Roumanians  "  Reminiscences,"  which  were  appearing  at  the 
time.  I  took  the  book  with  me  to  England  and  read  it 
through.  Later  I  obtained  the  other  volumes,  and  asked  to 
be  allowed  to  bring  out  an  abridged  edition  of  the  whole 
work  in   English.      This  request  was  granted,  and  the  book 

1  All  titles  of  nobility  have  now  been  abolished  in  Roumania,  as  also  in 
Norway. 

169 


GERMAN    MEMORIES 

was  published  in  1899  by  Messrs.  Harper  and  Brothers,  London 
and  New  York,  and  subsequently  added  to  my  other  books  in 
the  Tanchnit/  Collection  of  British  Authors.  It  contained 
several  hitherto  unpublished  documents  of  great  political 
interest,  notably  some  letters  of  the  Emperor  Frederick,  which 
only  appeared  subsequently  in  the  last  volume  of  the  German 
original.  This  brought  me  into  touch  with  the  King  of 
Roumania,  and  led  to  an  invitation  to  pay  him  a  visit  at 
Ragatz,  Switzerland,  where  he  *'  made  a  cure  "  and  was  visited 
by  his  relations  every  autumn.  Since  the  death  of  his  mother 
and  of  his  two  brothers,  to  both  of  whom  he  was  devotedly 
attached,  the  King  has  ceased  coming  to  the  pretty  Swiss 
watering-place.  Accordingly  I  went  to  Ragatz  in  September 
1899  and  stayed  three  days  at  the  Hotel  Quellenhof,  in  the 
grounds  of  which  the  Roumanian  Royal  family  inhabited  a 
charming  rustic  villa. 

Soon  after  my  arrival  I  called  at  the  chalet,  and  was  taken 
up  into  a  little  room  on  the  first  floor,  where  I  found  the 
King  seated  at  a  writing-table.  He  received  me  with  cor- 
diality in  his  quiet,  undemonstrative  way,  and  was  evidently 
well  disposed  towards  one  who  had  been  absorbed  for  several 
months  in  the  history  of  his  life.  His  Majesty  asked  me  a 
number  of  questions  on  topics  of  a  political  as  well  as  of  a 
personal  nature,  and  appeared  to  take  a  great  interest  in 
English  affairs  ;  in  fact,  he  gave  me  to  understand  that  he 
would  always  be  glad  to  receive  news  from  me  concerning 
them.  He  was  loud  in  his  praise  of  the  civilising  work 
England  had  done  and  was  doing  in  Egypt,  and  in  his  admira- 
tion of  Lord  Kitchener's  march  to  Khartoum,  which  he 
characterised  as  a  splendid  feat  of  organisation. 

After  some  time  the  Queen,  a  stately  apparition,  known 
everywhere  as  "  Carmen  Sylva,""  came  into  the  room  and 
joined  in  the  conversation,  and  we  adjourned  to  another  apart- 
ment on  the  ground  floor  for  tea,  with  the  Queen  as  hostess. 
Before  leaving,  the  King  invited  me  to  come  back  to  dinner, 
but  asked  me  not  to  trouble  to  put  on  evening  dress.  And 
here  I  may  mention  that  during  my  stay,  in  which  I  shared 
170 


/: 


r/r*< 


H.M.  THE  KING  OF  KOUMANIA 


KING    CHARLES    OF    ROUMANIA 

every  meal  but  one  with  the  Royal  family,  nobody  donned 
evening  dress,  and  the  only  uniform  I  saw  was  that  worn  by 
the  Royal  domestics.  The  company  consisted  of  ladies  and 
gentlemen  who  for  the  time  being  had  thrown  off  the 
trappings  of  their  worldly  station  and  had  retired  into  private 
life  to  enjoy  its  amenities  unfettered.  The  atmosphere  of 
unconstrained  simplicity  which  greeted  me  from  the  first 
moment  of  my  arrival  has  remained  in  my  memory  as  the 
dominant  characteristic  of  that  Royal  party.  Vin  du  pays 
was  the  beverage  at  table.  One  royal  lady  even  drank  a  glass 
of  Munich  beer.  Only  when  the  King's  mother  arrived  was 
a  bottle  of  superior  claret  to  be  seen,  and  then  exclusively 
for  her. 

The  morning  after  my  arrival  brought  some  fresh  visitors, 
as  I  noticed  on  being  shown  into  the  drawing-room. 

I  had  hardly  made  my  obeisance  to  the  King  and  Queen, 
and  rejoined  the  circle  to  await  the  signal  for  lunch,  when  a 
rather  slight,  fair,  and  refined-looking  man  addressed  me  in 
such  excellent  English  that  he  might  have  been  a  Briton.  I 
could  see  from  a  few  of  his  casual  remarks  that  he  would  be 
quite  at  home  in  England  ;  but  I  could  not  tell  who  he  was, 
and  in  consequence  felt  somewhat  embarrassed  how  to  reply 
when  he  came  up  and  addressed  me.  At  lunch  a  lady  on  my 
left  joined  in  our  conversation  and  seemed  to  be  on  intimate 
terms  with  him.  In  reply  to  a  remark  displaying  a  kindly 
interest  in  one  of  my  books,  I  asked  if  I  might  send  the  work 
in  question  to  him.  He  was  delighted,  and  volunteered  to 
write  the  address  to  which  I  was  to  send  it.  I  handed  him 
my  note-book,  in  which  he  pencilled  some  chateau  near  Meran, 
but  no  name.  I  suggested  that  if  he  would  add  his  name  I 
should  have  the  pleasure  of  possessing  his  autograph.  He  did 
so  readily,  and  I  found  he  was  one  of  the  Orleans  princes — 
H.R.H.  the  Due  de  Vendome.  His  mother  was  the  ill-fated 
Duchesse  d'Alen^on.  The  lady  sitting  at  my  side  was  his  wife, 
a  sister  of  the  present  King  of  the  Belgians.  In  conversation 
we  touched  upon  the  historical  significance  of  some  of  the 
titular  names  of  the  Bourbon  family,  also  the  euphony  and 

'   171 


GERMAN    MEMORIES 

distinction  of  many  of  the  names  of  the  l''rench  aristocracy, 
such  as  "  Mortemart,"  "  Montmorency,"  "  ChritelhcTanlt." 
Finally,  I  put  it  to  the  Duke  that,  although  we  lived  in  a 
democratic  age,  people  who,  like  himself,  come  into  the  world 
with  such  family  traditions  and  privileges  to  back  them  up 
have  still  a  "great  pulP"'  in  the  battle  of  life.  "  It  is  true," 
he  said,  "  we  are  favoured  in  the  matter  of  birth,  but  this  is 
far  from  constituting  happiness.  Where  everything  (-omes  to 
us  without  any  action  of  our  own  our  sense  of  responsibility 
should  be  great.  It  is  only  natural  that  we  feel  an  ardent 
desire  to  accomplish  something  '  off  our  own  bat '  in  whatever 
line  it  may  be — science,  letters,  or  art.  In  this,  however,  I 
am  afraid  we  rarely  succeed." 

Before  we  rose  from  table  the  Duke  proposed  that  we 
should  meet  later  in  the  afternoon  for  a  game  of  billiards.  I 
had  not  waited  long  in  the  garden  ere  he  appeared  with  an 
envelope  in  his  hand.  "  As  you  were  good  enough  to  ask  for 
my  signature,"  he  said,  "  I  thought  I  would  bring  you  my 
photograph  and  that  of  my  wife  and  child.  When  you  come 
to  Paris  I  hope  you  will  pay  us  a  call  at  Neuilly."  We  had 
a  long  talk  but  no  billiards  that  afternoon.  The  signed 
photographs  I  still  possess  as  mementos  of  the  kindly  nature 
of  a  royal  couple  whose  demeanour  betokened  their  recognition 
of  the  oft-quoted  but  rarely  realised  proverb.  Noblesse  oblige. 

During  my  stay  at  Ragatz,  the  King's  mother,  accompanied 
by  her  son,  the  late  Prince  Leopold  of  Hohenzollern,  a  most 
sympathetic  personality,  whose  candidature  for  the  throne  of 
Spain  was  one  of  the  causes  of  the  war  of  1  870,  arrived  on 
a  visit  to  the  King  and  Queen.  The  Princess,  then  in  her 
eighty-seventh  year,  was  in  possession  of  all  her  faculties, 
except  that  she  was  deaf.  Despite  her  deafness,  however,  she 
was  full  of  interest  in  everything  concerning  the  King,  whom 
she  evidently  worshipped  with  a  fond  mother's  love.  After 
dinner  she  expressed  a  wish  to  speak  to  me,  and  said,  in  a  kind 
and  sympathetic  voice,  whilst  she  held  in  her  hand  the  English 
edition  of  the  King's  Life,  which  had  been  recently  published  : 
"  You  have  written  so  beautifully  about  my  son."  Owing  to 
172 


KING    CHARLES    OF    ROUMANIA 

her  deafness  I  was  doubtful  what  to  do  or  say  in  reply,  and  I 
turned  appealingly  to  the  King,  who  stood  beside  his  mother. 
He  told  me  to  write  down  whatever  came  into  my  head,  as  it 
would  be  sure  to  please  her.  In  this  novel  way  a  prolonged 
conversation  took  place  between  us,  I  jotting  down  my  crude 
thoughts  in  a  note-book  lying  on  the  table  and  showing  it 
first  to  the  King  to  ask  if  what  I  had  written  "  would  do." 
When  the  King  nodded  assent,  I  passed  it  on  to  the  Princess, 
who  continued  the  conversation  in  this  fashion  for  some  time. 
Rarely,  if  ever,  have  I  met  a  lady  whose  manner  revealed  such 
a  kindly,  affectionate  disposition  as  I  detected  in  this  Prin- 
cess's voice  and  looks  when  speaking  of  the  King,  her  son,  who, 
in  an  age  of  unrest,  change,  and  democratic  upheaval,  has 
founded  a  dynasty  and  succeeded  almost  single-handed  in 
building  up  a  nation.  King  Charles  is  also  the  only  living 
Sovereign  who  has  commanded  u  victorious  army  in  a  pitched 
battle. 

In  taking  my  leave  the  King  graciously  expressed  a  wish 
that  I  would  pay  him  a  visit  in  his  capital  and  have  a  look 
at  his  country  seat  of  Sinaja ;  but  nearly  nine  years  elapsed 
before  I  was  able  to  do  so.  Being  again  in  Constantinople 
in  April  1908,  I  wrote  to  His  Majesty  that  if  he  still  retained 
the  same  kind  sentiments  towards  me  as  of  yore  I  proposed 
to  return  via  Bucharest  and  pay  my  respects  to  him.  An 
answer  came  by  return  that  the  King  would  be  pleased  to  see 
me,  and  be  glad  if  I  would  advise  him  in  advance  of  the 
day  of  my  arrival.  This  I  did,  and  I  arrived  at  Bucharest  on 
Sunday  morning,  May  10.  I  had  not  been  at  my  hotel  more 
than  half  an  hour  when  a  Court  official  came  into  my  room 
and  handed  me  a  printed  form,  asking  me  to  come  to  the 
Palace  at  5.30  the  same  afternoon. 

The  King  received  me  in  his  study,  conversing  for  some 
time  on  different  topics,  among  which  the  recent  assassination 
of  the  King  of  Portugal  was  mentioned.  The  only  newspaper 
in  Europe  which  at  the  time  was  said  to  have  given  a  reliable 
and  detailed  account  of  that  tragedy,  as  also  of  the  causes 
which    had    led    up    to    it,    was    the    Frankfurter    Zeitung. 

173 


GERMAN    MEMORIES 

Nothing  much  on  this  phase  of  the  subject  had  I  seen  in  the 
Enghsh  papers.  This  rather  surprised  the  King,  who  told  me 
that  a  rohition  of  his  had  been  in  Lisbon  two  years  previously, 
and  had  reported  to  him  the  unsatisfactory  state  of  affairs 
then  prevailing  in  Portugal.  From  that  time  onwards  the 
King  told  me  he  had  been  anxiously  concerned  lest  matters 
should  have  a  bad  ending  (Ei7i  schlectes  Ende  nehmen). 

His  Majesty  asked  how  long  I  proposed  to  stay  in  Bucharest, 
and  if  I  had  any  friends  there.  I  had  been  apprised  beforehand 
that  a  guest  could  not  expect  to  receive  the  same  attention  in 
Bucharest,  where  the  King  was  absorbed  in  affairs  of  State,  as 
at  Ragatz  ;  and  as  I  did  not  wish  to  trespass  on  His  Majesty's 
kindness,  and  was,  moreover,  anxious  to  get  home,  I  replied  that 
I  proposed  to  leave  the  next  day.  "  Then  you  must  come  and 
have  tea  with  the  Queen  to-morrow,"  he  said.  The  King  also 
suggested  that  I  should  pay  a  visit  to  his  castle  at  Sinaja  on 
my  way  back,  and  he  would  see  that  I  was  shown  all  over  the 
place.  I  took  advantage  of  both  these  suggestions.  The 
Queen  received  me  the  next  afternoon  in  her  drawing-room, 
and  we  had  tea  in  the  garden,  at  which  the  King  and  the 
Roumanian  Ambassador  in  Berlin  were  also  present.  Carmen 
Sylva's  great  charm  of  manner  is  too  well  known  to  need  any 
emphasis  on  my  part.  Her  conversation,  which  has  delighted  so 
many — among  others,  Pierre  Loti,  whose  work,  Les  Ptcheurs 
d'lslande,  Her  Majesty  has  translated — was  as  gracious,  bright, 
and  sparkling  as  ever.  In  the  interval  between  my  visit  to 
Ragatz  her  hair  had  turned  snow  white.  Much  has  been  written 
regarding  Carmen  Sylva's  many  natural  gifts,  but  I  do  not 
remember  ever  coming  across  a  single  reference  to  the  Queen's 
extraordinary  industry,  which  is  perhaps  her  most  marked 
characteristic.  Her  translation  of  Paul  de  Saint  Victor's  monu- 
mental work,  Les  Deux  Masques,  over  1500  printed  pages, 
a  copy  of  which  she  sent  me,  would  alone  entitle  the  Queen  of 
Roumania  to  a  high  place  among  the  world's  strenuous  workers. 

On  my  return  to  England  I  heard,  from  an  indirect  source, 
that  had  I  been  able  to  stay  in  Bucharest  a  couple  of  days  longer 
the  King  had  intended  to  invite  me  to  accompany  him  down 
174 


KING  CHARLES  OF  ROUMANIA 

the  Danube  on  a  festive  progress  of  the  Royal  Family,  which 
was  to  begin  on  the  following  Thursday  and  extend  as  far  as 
the  Black  Sea.  When  I  wrote  to  thank  the  King  for  his  kind 
reception  I  also  expressed  my  disappointment  that  I  had  missed 
such  a  favourable  opportunity  of  seeing  the  country.  I  received 
a  gracious  letter  of  acknowledgment,  followed  by  the  Grand 
Commander's  Cross  and  Star  of  the  Order  of  the  Crown  of 
Roumania. 


175 


CHAPTER    XV 

THEODOR    MOMMSEN 

Any  one  who  happened  to  be  in  Bei  lin  at  the  beginning  of  the 
eiglities,  and  was  in  tlie  habit  of  riding  in  the  tramcars  from  the 
Brandenburg  Gate  to  Charlottenburg  between  six  and  eight  in 
the  evening,  might  often  have  noticed  an  old  gentleman  of 
striking  appearance  among  the  passengers.  He  was  of  medium 
height,  of  slight  figure,  his  face  clean-shaven  and  full  of 
wrinkles,  set  off  by  a  head  with  long,  silvery  hair.  His  dark, 
illuminatingly  expressive  eyes  peered  through  a  pair  of  spectacles. 
On  entering  the  tram  he  alway  looked  out  for  a  seat  near  the 
lamp  at  the  back  of  the  car,  and  invariably  succeeded  in 
obtaining  it.  Thereupon  he  would  draw  a  newspaper  from 
his  pocket,  and  soon  be  engrossed  in  its  contents,  notwith- 
standing the  dimness  of  the  light.  When  the  tramcar  stopped 
at  Charlottenburg  he  had  generally  finished  reading.  He  would 
get  out  and  hurry  along  to  the  March  Strusse^  in  which  his 
unpretentious  house  stood.  This  was  Theodor  Mommsen,  the 
renowned  historian  of  ancient  Rome.  He  was  well  known  to 
his  fellow  passengers,  or  such  of  them  as  were  inhabitants  of 
Charlottenburg,  and  every  one  made  room  for  him.  Even  if  a 
stranger  happened  to  recognise  him,  and  nudged  his  neighbour, 
saying, "  That  is  Mommsen,"  he  was  sure  to  be  snubbed  for  his 
pains,  or  in  reply  to  be  told,  curtly,  "  Never  mind."  Thus 
Mommsen  was  never  molested  ;  and  that  was  exactly  what  his 
fellow  citizens  had  in  view  by  their  studied  neglect  of  him. 
They  were  proud  of  his  world-wide  reputation,  and  they  felt 
honoured  by  the  consciousness  that  he  was  one  of  their  fellow 
townsmen.  They  had  a  notion  that  he  must  devote  all  his  spare 
time  to  his  studies,  and  that  he  was  thus  perforce  obliged  to  read 
176 


THE  ODOR    MOMIsrSEN 

his  newspaper  in  the  tramcar.  For  his  books  awaited  him  at  home, 
where  he  was  in  the  habit  of  working  till  long  past  midnight ; 
so  that  he  could  not  have  had  many  hours  to  spare  for  sleep,  if  he 
wanted  to  be  up  early  and  back  again  in  Berlin  at  eight  o'clock 
to  deliver  his  daily  lecture  at  the  University.  Though  nobody 
ventured  to  speak  to  the  old  gentleman  when  homeward  bound, 
many  were  the  stories  told  of  him  in  the  tramcar  in  the  course  of 
the  year ;  and,  what  is  somewhat  unusual  with  tongue-plav  in 
Germany,  they  were  all  to  his  honour.  When,  in  the  sixties, 
Napoleon  the  Third  was  busy  writing  his  "  Life  of  Caesar,"  and 
all  Europe  was  in  anxious  expectation  as  to  the  outcome,  he 
solicited  Mommsen's  co-operation ;  but  Mommsen  politely 
declined.  Some  time  afterwards  Napoleon  caused  the  history  of 
the  princely  family  of  Borghese  to  be  written,  and  he  again 
approached  Mommsen,  and  asked  him  whether  he  would  consent 
to  revise  the  proofs.  This  Mommsen  agreed  to  do,  but  there 
again  he  declined  to  accept  the  50,000  francs  which  the  Emperor 
had  set  apart  for  him  in  return  for  his  services.  The  soul  of 
the  German  professor  stood  above  cash  payment,  even  from  an 
emperor.  He  had  been  too  busy  with  the  dust  of  whole 
dynasties  of  Caesars  to  attach  much  importance  to  the  favours 
or  the  rewards  of  monarchs.  It  was  also  related  that  on  one 
occasion,  during  Mommsen's  residence  in  Italy,  when  making  an 
excursion  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Rome  with  some  tourists,  the 
party  was  stopped  by  brigands.  The  latter,  whilst  busy  rifling 
the  company's  pockets,  inquired  their  names.  "  Sono  Theodoro 
Mommsen ! "  was  the  choleric  Professor's  indignant  reply. 
Whereupon  the  chief  of  the  band  stayed  his  hand.  He  said  he 
would  scorn  to  rob  one  who  had  done  so  much  for  Italy's  renown. 
It  was  indeed  a  queer  contrast  of  extremes  that  the  mere  name 
of  the  German  savant,  which  could  disarm  the  rapacity  of  an 
Italian  brigand,  should  at  another  period  of  his  life  have  been 
able  to  add  to  the  ill-feeling  between  two  great  nations. 

I  was  brought  into  contact  with  the  renowned  historian 
under  circumstances  which  at  the  time  caused  some  commotion 
in  editorial  dovecots  in  England,  Germany,  and  the  United 
States.      It  was  in  the  midst  of  the  Boer  War.      The  North 

M  177 


GERMAN    MEMORIES 

American  Reinew,  through  its  London  editor,  was  endeavouring  to 
obtain  some  representative  German  expressions  of  opinion  on  the 
rights  and  wrongs  of  the  struggle.  This  gentleman  had  already 
applied  to  Monimsen  direct,  asking  the  Professor  to  name  his 
own  terms  for  an  expression  of  opinion,  however  short  and 
guarded  it  might  be,  but  he  had  met  with  a  curt  refusal. 
The  German  .scholar,  in  this  like  Browning,  the  poet,  was  not 
to  be  influenced  by  pecuniary  considerations.  Thereupon  the 
editor  consulted  me,  and  I  wrote  to  my  friend.  Professor  Hans 
Delbrueck,  on  the  subject.  The  reply  came  that,  although 
Mommsen  persisted  in  his  refusal  to  contribute  an  article,  in 
view  of  my  sympathetic  record  in  connection  with  German 
affairs  he  was  willing  to  meet  me  half-way.  He  suggested 
that  I  should  write  him  a  short  letter,  succinctly  embodying 
the  specific  questions  which  the  North  American  Review  wished 
to  put  to  him.  To  this  he  would  send  a  reply ;  the  two 
letters,  question  and  answer,  to  be  simultaneously  published 
side  by  side  in  the  North  American  Review.  This  was  duly 
carried  out,  and  the  result,  as  aforesaid,  created  quite  a 
sensation.  Mommsen,  who,  all  through  his  life,  had  been 
a  staunch  Liberal,  and  one  of  the  most  whole-hearted  admirers 
England  ever  possessed  on  the  Continent,  was  dubbed  an 
Anglophobe,  and  my  humble  self  everything  that  is  reprehen- 
sible for  "  aiding  and  abetting "  the  publication  of  a  docu- 
ment which  at  the  time  undoubtedly  added  to  the  unpopu- 
larity of  England  among  the  intellectual  classes  on  the 
Continent.  To-day,  I  do  not  hesitate  to  express  my  regret, 
for  reasons  which  it  is  needless  to  specify  here,  that  I  had  anything 
to  do  with  the  business.  But  at  that  time,  in  common 
with  many  other  Englishmen,  I  was  in  strong  sympathy  with 
the  Boers  in  their  struggle  for  independence,  and  saw  nothing 
irregular  in  my  action.  Another  consideration  which  weighed 
with  me  from  the  point  of  view  of  journalistic  ethics  was  the 
reasoning  that  if  the  London  editor  of  the  North  American 
Review,  an  Englishman  with  distinguished  connections,  who  at 
one  time  had  been  a  Member  of  Parliament  and  had  filled 
a  Court  appointment,  saw  no  harm  in  "  aiding  and  abetting  " 
178 


THEODOR    MOMMSEN 

the  publication  of  Mommsen"'s  views  on  the  Boer  War,  it  was 
not  for  a  comparatively  unimportant  person  like  myself  to 
have  any  scruples  on  the  subject. 

Being  on  a  visit  to  Berlin  shortly  afterwards,  I  called  on 
Professor  Mommsen  at  his  villa  in  Charlottenburg.  Not 
finding  him  at  home,  I  left  a  card,  and  early  the  next  morning 
he  returned  my  call  at  the  Hotel  Continental  and  invited  me 
to  lunch  for  the  following  day.  When  I  presented  myself  the 
door  was  opened  by  a  young  lady,  whom  I  fear  I  mistook  for 
a  servant.  She  relieved  me  of  my  overcoat,  showed  me  into  a 
drawing-room,  and,  to  my  surprise,  said,  "  My  father  will  be 
with  you  in  a  minute,  sir."  She  was  one  of  Mommsen's 
daughters.  Only  afterwards  did  I  learn  that  the  great 
historian  was  prolific  both  as  a  father  and  as  an  author  of 
books.  He  had  ten  or  more  children.  My  fellow  guests  on 
the  occasion  were  Dr.  Nathan,  editor  of  the  German  weekly. 
Die  Nation,  and  Professor  Max  Lenz,  the  historian.  Rector  of 
Berlin  University  in  1912. 

Although  Mommsen  was  at  that  time  over  eighty-three 
years  of  age,  he  was  a  bright  companion  at  table  ;  he  still 
plied  a  vigorous  knife  and  fork,  and  took  his  fair  share  of  a 
choice  crii  of  his  favourite  Sicilian  vintage. 

The  South  African  War  was  uppermost  in  men's  minds,  and 
in  connection  therewith  the  strong  outburst  of  sympathy  with 
the  Boers  which  it  had  provoked  throughout  Germany  was 
already  a  topic  of  conversation.  According  to  Professor 
Mommsen  the  unpopularity  of  England  in  Germany  was  not 
directly  owing  to  the  Boer  War,  although  that  event  had  set 
it  aflame  and  caused  it  to  transgress  all  defensible  limits. 
This  he  deplored  as  serving  no  useful  purpose ;  but  he  con- 
sidered that  it  was  an  inevitable  outcome  of  long  standing, 
accumulating  grievances,  partly  of  a  political  and  partly  of  a 
sentimental  nature.  There  were  the  grievances  of  a  newcomer 
against  an  old-established  firm  in  the  comity  of  nations  and 
vice  versa.  As  to  political  grievances,  the  real  offence  lay 
in  the  antagonistic  attitude  English  statesmen  had  adopted 
towards     Germany    throughout     the     struggle     for    national 

179 


GERMAN    MEMORIES 

unity — from  the  Danish  War  of  1864  to  the  Franco- 
German  War  of  1870.  The  effect  of  this  action  of  England, 
unlike  many  other  transitory  manifestations  of  political 
leanings  in  history — as,  for  instance,  the  traditional  enmity  of 
France  to  the  House  of  Habsburg — had  not  passed  away  with 
the  memory  of  the  generations  which  witnessed  it.  It  had 
become  part  of  German  history,  and  as  such,  together  with 
previous  political  data  of  a  kindred  nature,  had  through 
school  tuition  and  treatises  of  leading  historians^  become  part 
and  parcel  of  national  tradition  and  feeling,  ready  to  rise 
up  afresh  on  every  occasion  which  brought  back  the  memory 
of  the  interfering  part  England  was  alleged  to  have  played  in 
German  politics.  In  so  far  as  dislike  of  England  had  a  senti- 
mental basis.  Professor  Mommsen  saw  in  it  the  reaction  against 
a  former  exaggerated  German  admiration  for  everything 
English,  from  the  days,  as  he  himself  expressed  it,  when 
"  many  an  English  tailor  was  accepted  in  the  Fatherland  as  a 
real  live  lord."  This  reaction  had  been  quickened  by  the 
awakening  of  strong  feeling  of  national  self-consciousness, 
which  resulted  from  the  unification  of  Germany  ;  and,  again, 
perhaps  to  an  even  greater  degree,  by  the  giant  strides  Germany 
had  made  since  the  1870  war  in  the  accumulation  of  wealth  by 
commerce  and  industry.  These  achievements  somehow  produced 
a  feeling  in  Germany  that  England  had  been  unduly  overrated, 
which  was  likewise  set  in  further  relief  by  the  widely  advertised 
English  taunt  that  inferior  articles  were  "  Made  in  Germany." 
As  an  additional,  though  minor,  factor  in  this  list  of  national 
grievances  Mommsen  put  the  overbearing  conduct  of  many 
English  travellers  in  Germany ;  one  instance  of  which,  con- 
nected with  a  notorious  incident  at  Bonn,^  in  Lord  Palmerston's 
days,  was  dealt  with  in  Parliament,  and  actually  led  to  serious 
diplomatic   discussions    between   Prussia  and  England.      And, 

1  Many  German  political  writers,  notably  Treitschke  and  Lothar  Bucher, 
have  propounded  the  idea  that  Prussia  was  shorn  of  her  legitimate  fruits  of 
victory  by  Lord  Castlereagh  at  the  Congress  of  Vienna  in  1815,  and  that  if 
Germany  had  been  allowed  to  retain  Alsace  the  war  of  1870  might  never  have 
taken  place. 

3  Fracas  of  Captain  Macdonald  with  a  railway  guard  at  Bonn,  September  1860, 
180 


THEODOR    MOMMSEN 

lastly,  the  pointed  and  unfriendly  action  of  certain  organs  of 
the    English    Press   was   cited   by  Mommsen  as    an   obligato 
accompaniment  of  disharmony  from  early  days  down  to  our 
times.      "  Your  Press,""  he  said,  "  like  its  Parisian  sister,   has 
become  a  public  nuisance."     The  Boer  War  came  as  a  final 
straw  to  the  cameFs  load  of  injury.      If  Professor  Mommsen 
cited  these  data  to  me  as  explanations  of  German  ill-feeling 
towards  England,  he   was  very  far  from  asserting  that  they 
were  a  sufficient  justification   for  the   outburst  of    animosity 
which  the  Boer  War   called  forth.      As    a   life-long   German 
Liberal,  who  had  suffered  legal  prosecution  for  his  opinions, 
he   had   always  been  a  staunch  admirer  of   English  political 
institutions  ;    and  his  eminently  legal  mind  disdained  a  senti- 
mental harping  on   grievances   long    since    dead    and  buried, 
the   recalling    of  which   could   do  no    practical    good    to   any 
one  in  our  day.      He  preferred  to  dwell  upon  that  which   was 
still  left  of  his  earlier  faith   in   English  greatness  ;  and  even 
down  to  the  last  he  was  ready  to  pay  his  unstinted  tribute  of 
admiration   to   the  broad-minded  policy  of  England,  "  which 
opens  to  the  stranger  every  harbour  it  acquires."      However, 
in  common  with  many  other  German  public  men,  Mommsen 
had  openly  proclaimed  his  sympathy  with  the  Boers.      For  all 
that  he  was  surprised  to  find  that  his  action  excited  such  angry 
comment  in  England  as  it  did  ;   in   the  first  place,  because  he 
had    always    considered   England   the   one    country  above  all 
others  in   which  people  were  at  liberty  to  give  free  expression 
to  their  opinions  without  let  or  hindrance — a  liberty  they  had 
ever  exercised  unrestrictedly,  whether  it  ruffled  foreign  suscep- 
tibilities or  not.      He  would  have  laughed  anybody  to  scorn  who 
had  doubted  his  patriotism  because  he  opposed  Prince  Bismarck 
when  he  happened  to  disagree  with  his  policy,  and  so  he  was  sur- 
prised to  find  himself  reviled  as  an  enemy  of  England  because 
his  juridical  sense  of  what  he  considered  to  be  the  righteous  law 
of  nations  had  to  his  thinking  been  outraged  by  the  questionable 
origin   of  the   Boer  War :   notably  by  the  Jameson  raid,  the 
responsibility  for  which  he  considered  did  not  rest  upon  the 
English  nation,  but  on  Messrs.  Rhodes  and  Chamberlain. 

181 


GERMAN    MEMORIES 

Another  feature  of  the  case  increased  his  surprise  at  the 
animosity  he  had  excited,  and  this  was  that  his  own  view 
that  the  origin  of  the  Boer  War  constituted  a  wrong  exactly 
coincided  with  the  openly  expressed  views  of  a  number  of  well- 
known  Englishmen,  some  of  whom  did  not  hesitate  to  give 
vehement  expression  thereto  on  the  platform  and  in  the 
Press.  Had  it  come  to  this,  that  we  must  worship  our  friends 
blindly,  applaud  their  every  action,  or  straightway  stand  ac- 
cused of  being  affected  with  mad  antipathy,  with  that  dreadful 
disease  known  to  us  as  "  Anglophobia  "  ?  Like  another  strong 
fighter,  Gambetta,  who,  when  threatened  by  his  constituents, 
turned  upon  them  and  told  them  to  their  faces  that  he  would 
pursue  them  to  their  lairs,  Mommsen  declined  to  accept  the 
mandat  imperatif  to  approve  everything  from  anybody  or  any 
conglomeration  of  "  bodies,""  corporations,  communities,  or 
nationalities.  He  stood  in  his  own  person  as  a  distinguished 
exponent  of  the  fearless  veracity  of  a  whole  race,  and  no 
scurrility  or  intimidation  could  move  that  old  man  one  hair''s 
breadth  from  the  proud  line  of  independent  conviction.  He 
claimed  to  exercise  in  his  private  capacity  the  same  right  of 
criticism  which  others,  more  particularly  Englishmen,  had  always 
arrogated  to  themselves.  For  all  that,  he  was  not  rabid.  He 
could  not  understand  the  resentment  of  his  English  friends,  and, 
whilst  deploring  it,  accepted  its  consequences  in  a  regretful  but 
philosophical  spirit.  But  what  he  most  particularly  objected  to 
was  that  a  German  professor.  Max  Miiller,  domiciled  in  England, 
should  have  taken  upon  himself  to  enlighten  him  with  regard  to 
a  situation  concerning  which  Mommsen  considered  that  he 
required  no  enlightenment,  least  of  all  from  such  a  quarter. 

"  I  can  well  understand,"  he  said,  "  that  the  English  could 
not  afford  to  allow  the  power  of  the  Boers  to  develop  to  such 
an  extent  as  might  eventually  have  threatened  British  supre- 
macy in  South  Africa.  In  the  same  way  we  on  our  Eastern 
frontier  could  not  allow  the  Polish  element  to  swamp  our 
own  German  nationality.  I  could  even  sympathise  with  and 
welcome  British  supremacy,  but  not  with  Mr.  Rhodes  as 
*  pace-maker  "■ ""  (he  used  this  word  in  English). 
182 


THEODOR    MOMMSEN 

Neither  did  Mommsen  allow  his  antagonism  to  the  origin  of 
the  Boer  War,  nor  the  comments  his  attitude  had  provoked  in 
the  English  Press  (nor  even  the  seizing  of  the  German  ship, 
the  Bundesrath,  by  the  English,  which  had  called  forth  a  storm 
of  indignation  in  Germany),  to  carry  him  beyond  the  exact 
limitations  he  had  set  to  his  criticism  of  English  policy.  For 
when  one  of  the  guests  present  expressed  himself  in  angry 
terms  with  regard  to  the  supposed  indignity  which  Germany 
had  been  exposed  to  by  the  Bundesrath  incident,  and  said 
that  only  a  strong  German  fleet  could  obviate  such  occurrences 
in  the  future,  Monnnsen  replied  drily,  "  Such  disagreeable  in- 
cidents {Chicanen)  may  have  to  be  faced  in  the  life  of  nations, 
without  necessarily  involving  any  great  hardship  or  indignity ; 
they  must  be  put  up  with  as  best  as  they  can  be.  Or  would 
you  perhaps  be  prepared  to  stake  our  naval  existence  on  a 
German  Nelson  ? ""  But  if  Mommsen  took  upon  himself  to 
criticise  the  political  action  of  England,  at  least  he  was 
equally  frank  and  uncompromising  with  regard  to  other 
countries,  his  own  included. 

Mommsen  took  an  unfavourable  view  of  the  future  of 
Austria.  He  said  that  the  battle  of  Sadowa  in  its  con- 
sequences had  spelt  Finis  Justriae.  The  Ausgleich  with 
Hungary  was  nothing  more  than  a  Moschns  Kiir,  a  musk 
cure — musk  being  tlie  supposed  remedy  for  a  patient  in 
extremis  with  a  weak  heart.  "  Austria  seems  inevitably 
destined,"  he  said  :  "  to  become  the  Turkey  of  Europe  {die 
Europdische  Turkei),  a  conglomeration  of  States,  each  inter- 
minably struggling  against  the  rest." 

The  present  state  of  Germany  was  also  very  far  from  satis- 
fying the  eminent  historian  of  Rome.  It  worried  him  to 
think  that  the  balance  of  earnestness  and  discipline  among 
German  political  parties  seemed  to  be  with  the  Centre  and 
the  Social  Democrats,  whereas  Germany  is  so  situated  that 
she  cannot  possibly  afford  to  dispense  with  a  strong  monarchi- 
cal, agricultural  population.  I  asked  him  what  development 
of  landed  interests  his  wide  experience  of  other  civilisations 
might    have   suggested  to  him    as  likely  to    be  most  suited 

183 


GERMAN    MEMORIES 

to  the  future  of  Germany.  Although  as  a  Liberal  he 
would  have  scant  sympathies  with  the  Junker^  he  could 
not  well  lose  sight  of  the  great  services  the  landed  gentry 
of  Prussia  had  contributed  to  the  unification  of  Germany 
by  their  devotion  to  the  career  of  arms ;  and  all  authorities 
seemed  to  agree  in  connecting  the  downfall  of  great  empires 
with  the  decline  of  their  agriculture.  This  he  did  not  deny, 
and  replied  that  he  had  formed  certain  ideas  on  the  subject, 
but  it  would  take  time  to  explain  them  in  the  course  of 
conversation.  For  the  moment  he  was  sorry  to  say  that 
the  trend  of  events  pointed  to  a  coming  Absolutism  in 
Germany.  "  This  seems  to  me  the  only  possible  outcome 
of  the  present  state  of  affairs,"  he  said  ;  and  added,  "  If  the 
Emperor  Frederick  had  lived,  things  might  have  been 
different." 

There  was,  however,  one  feature  of  German  life  in  the 
present  day  which  called  forth  Mommsen's  unqualified  ad- 
miration. It  was  the  extraordinary  development  of  the  large 
German  towns,  both  as  regards  outside  appearance,  improved 
sanitation  and  cleanliness,  and,  above  all,  the  comparative  ab- 
sence of  degrading  poverty.  He  thought  these  things  reflected 
honour  on  German  civilisation.  It  was  a  source  of  pride 
to  him  to  think  of  the  ability  and  the  high  standard  of 
honesty  and  administrative  talent  which  characterises  muni- 
cipal government  in  Germany  generally.  This  upraising  of 
the  German  cities  seemed  to  him  destined  to  bring  back 
to  them  on  a  vastly  enlarged  scale  a  renaissance  of  the 
splendours  of  the  German  cities  of  the  fifteenth  and  sixteenth 
centuries.  Mommsen  declared  this  to  be  one  of  the  striking 
features  of  European  life  at  the  end  of  the  nineteenth  century. 
To  a  guest  who  mentioned  a  recent  instance  of  a  chief  magis- 
trate of  a  great  foreign  city  being  admonished  on  the  day  of 
his  installation  that  it  was  hoped  he  would  succeed  in  clearing 
his  character  from  certain  financial  entanglements,  Mommsen 
replied,  "  That  indeed  would  be  impossible  with  us." 

In  the  course  of  further  conversation,  reference  was  made  to 
Mommaen's  long  sojourn  in  Italy.  On  being  reminded  what  a 
184. 


PKOFESSOK  MOMMSEN 


S--    (-^<^^ 


THEODOR    MOMMSEN 

popular  figure  he  had  always  been  in  that  country,  for  the 
fame  of  which  he  had  done  so  much,  he  replied  that  it  was 
not  so  serious  (gefdhrlich)  with  his  Italian  popularity.  "  The 
Italians  are  in  some  ways  much  more  Chauvinistic  than  the 
French,  more  particularly  in  their  jealousy  of  German  savants. 
This  is  probably  because  they  have  so  few  of  their  own,"  he 
said ;  "  whereas  in  Paris,  parmi  les  intellechiels,  there  is  a 
much  more  generous  recognition  of  merit  of  other  countries. 
This  is  natural,  because  the  French  have  so  many  distinguished 
scholars  of  their  own  that  they  have  no  cause  for  petty 
jealousy." 

On  returning  to  the  drawing-room  we  passed  before 
Lenbach's  wonderful  portrait  of  our  host  on  an  easel,  and  in  a 
corner  of  the  room  we  caught  sight  of  his  bust  by  Begas. 
Mommsen  stopped  our  expression  of  admiration  for  the  former 
by  telling  us  of  a  Frenchman  who  boasted  of  the  possession  of 
twenty-one  portraits  of  himself.  "  I  have  already  got  far  too 
many  '  self-portraits,"* ""  he  said  jokingly  ;  "  but  I  hope  I  shall 
never  attain  to  that  Frenchman's  degree  of  distinction." 

As  is  well  known,  one  of  Mommsen''s  last  actions  was  to  pen 
an  article  pleading  for  a  better  understanding  between  England 
and  Germany.  Whatever  might  have  been  his  momentary 
irritation  he  did  not  allow  his  views  on  particular  questions  to 
affect  his  convictions  on  broader  issues.  One  of  these  had 
always  been  and  remained  to  the  last  a  dominant  conviction 
of  the  vast  common  interests  of  Germany  and  England ; 
particularly  as  represented  by  the  educated  minority,  the 
Intellectuellen,  as  he  called  the  best  representatives  of  both 
countries,  for  the  benefit  of  the  civilisation  of  the  world. 

At  the  time  when  Prince  Bismarck's  animosity  towards 
Mommsen  was  particularly  marked,  one  night  the  latter  was 
walking  home  with  a  friend,  when  he  suddenly  turned  to  him 
and  remarked  :  "  After  all  is  said  and  done,  what  a  calamity 
it  is  for  us  that  political  passion  should  deprive  us  of  the 
privilege  of  mixing  socially  with  such  a  man  !  " 

So  also  on  the  closing  in  of  life's  long  day  was  it  with  this 
fearless  old  fighter  in  the  cause  of  what  he  held  to  be  right  and 

185 


GERMAN    MEMORIES 

truth.  He  said  to  himself,  "  What  a  pity  that  two  great 
nations  of  kindred  race  should  remain  at  lofjfjerhcads  !  "  He 
did  not  hesitate  to  run  the  risk  of  being  thought  weak  and 
inconsistent  by  his  more  militant  countrymen  when  he  asked 
for  a  truce  and  a  better  understanding  with  a  foreign  but 
kindred  nation,  which,  even  by  its  anger,  paid  indirect  homage 
to  his  importance — to  the  eminence  of  an  old  man,  holding  no 
office,  possessed  of  no  power  but  that  which  intellect  and  lofty 
character  still  sometimes  confer  upon  a  private  citizen,  even  in 
Germany,  in  this  bustling,  glittering,  emotional  world  of  ours. 


186 


CHAPTER  XVI 

PRINCE  REUSS  VII 

My  "  Reminiscences  of  Prince  Bismarck "  appeared  in  the 
autumn  of  1902,  simultaneously  in  America,  England  and 
Germany.  Shortly  afterwards  a  letter  in  a  lady's  handwriting 
was  forwarded  to  me  from  my  German  publishers.  It  was 
from  Princess  Henry  VII.  Reuss,  wife  of  the  well-known 
diplomatist  of  that  name,^  and  contained  an  intimation  that 
the  Prince  had  read  my  book  with  interest,  felt  drawn  towards 
those  who  had  been  on  friendly  terms  with  Prince  Bismarck, 
and  hoped  that  I  would  come  and  see  him.  I  replied  that  I 
was  unfortunately  not  in  a  position  to  undertake  what 
Bismarck  had  termed  "  decorative  journey s,'"*  but,  nevertheless, 
I  would  not  fail  to  pay  my  respects  to  the  Prince  when  next 
in  Germany. 

Baron  Robert  von  Keudell,  ^  with  whom  I  was  in  correspon- 
dence at  the  time,  wrote  me  a  letter  (February  18,  1903), 
congratulating  me  by  anticipation  on  the  privilege  of  making 
the  acquaintance  of  so  distinguished  a  man  as  Prince  Reuss,  of 
whom  he  said  : 

"  He  is  more  thoroughly  acquainted  with  the  diplomatic 
history  of  Europe  from  1866  down  to  about   1895   than  any 

1  Prince  of  a  younger  branch  of  the  German  Sovereign  House  of  Reuss. 
Statesman  and  Prussian  General  of  Cavalry  ;  was  successively  German  Ambas- 
sador in  Petersburg,  Constantinople  and  Vienna,  in  which  last  capacity  he 
negotiated  the  Treaty  of  Alliance  between  Austria  and  Germany  in  1879.  He 
retired  from  service  in  1894  and  died  in  1906. 

2  Distinguished  Prussian  diplomatist,  many  years  in  the  Foreign  OflBce 
under  Bismarck ;  from  1876-82  German  Ambassador  in  Rome  ;  personal 
friend  of  the  Bismarck  family,  concerning  which  he  published  most  interesting 
reminiscences. 

187 


GERMAN     MEMORIES 

other  living  person,  not  even  excepting  the  Italian  statesman 
Nigra,  who  knows  nothing  about  Germany.  Prince  Reuss  is 
as  familiar  with  the  history  of  the  Napoleonic  Court  as  with 
that  of  Petersburg,  Constantinople,  and  Vienna.  I  spent 
a  couple  of  very  pleasant  days  at  Trebschen  some  years  ago, 
and  hope  to  go  there  again  next  June."'''  ^ 

It  was  Prince  Reuss  who,  as  German  Ambassador  in  Vienna, 
concluded  in  1879  the  famous  Austro-German  Alliance  which 
has  since  formed  the  fundamental  basis  of  the  policy  of 
the  two  central  European  Great  Powers. 

One  bright  July  afternoon  I  was  driving  in  a  well-appointed 
hickory  brake  and  pair  through  some  beautiful  woods  in  the 
domain  of  Prince  Reuss  in  the  Province  of  Brandenburg, 
between  the  town  of  Ziillichau  and  the  Schloss  of  Trebschen  ; 
a  very  capacious  and  picturesque  old  residence,  which 
Prince  Reuss  adapted  to  modern  comforts,  with  a  beautiful 
park  in  the  rear.  I  met  with  the  kindliest  reception,  and 
spent  three  delightful  days  in  the  best  of  company ;  the 
circumstance  of  my  acquaintance  with  Prince  Bismarck 
providing  a  fruitful  theme  of  conversation.  Both  the  Prince 
and  the  Princess  were  very  musical,  and  in  the  evening  a 
quartette  was  performed  in  the  concert-room  by  executants 
who  came  in  from  the  neighbourhood. 

Next  morning  the  Princess  showed  me  over  her  sanatorium, 
a  large  handsome  building,  which  she  had  caused  to  be  erected, 
perfectly  equipped  for  hospital  work,  situate  in  the  immediate 
vicinity  of  and  nearly  opposite  the  Schloss,  with  direct  ingress 
for  the  patients  into  the  park.  For  years  she  vainly 
endeavoured  to  draw  a  stream  of  patients  to  Trebschen  ;  but 
she  has  now  made  the  building  over  to  a  girls'  school,  a  purpose 
for  which  the  large  airy  structure  is  eminently  suited.  Its 
delightful  situation,  including  a  free  run  of  the  Prince's  park, 
and  the  high  reputation  of  those  who  have  undertaken 
its  management,  should  be  a  guarantee  of  its  success. 

After  breakfast  we    regularly    took  a  walk    in     the    park, 
where  the  unusual   size   of  the  trees  had   excited  my  surprise 
^  Herr  von  Keudell  died  shortly  afterwards,  in  April  1903. 

188 


PRINCE    REUSS    VII 

on  my  arrival.  It  reminded  me  of  the  parks  of  some  great 
English  families. 

"  Yes,  our  park  is  almost  unique  in  these  parts — indeed, 
a  curiosity,"  said  Princess  Reuss,  "  It  was  the  very  first  on 
the  Continent  to  be  laid-out  in  accordance  with  English  taste. 
It  was  about  the  year  1775  when  Jean  Jacques  Rousseau's 
ideas  about  the  return  to  nature  came  into  vogue  and  had 
a  most  beneficial  influence  in  their  way.  This  grand  old 
park  of  Trebschen,  with  its  beautiful  timber,  is  quite  typical 
of  that  period,  for  whatever  has  been  renovated  since  has 
always  been  carried  out  in  the  spirit  of  that  period  and  very 
often  under  impressions  produced  by  travelling  souvenirs 
gathered  in  England.  Thus  English  influences  can  be  traced 
here,  though  adapted  to  the  climate  and  to  the  vegetation  of 
Brandenburg,  whilst  utilising  the  natural  woodland  character- 
istics of  the  neighbourhood. 

"  It  was  a  lady  who  planned  it,  a  relation  of  the  Reuss 
family,  a  Countess  Reden.  She  was  the  founder  of  the  Bible 
Society  in  Germany,  had  many  English  friends,  and  in  late 
years  became  intimately  acquainted  with  King  Frederick 
William  IV.  Her  father,  who  came  from  Brunswick,  was  a 
Count  Riedesel.  He  accompanied  the  Brunswick  troops  as 
their  commander  to  Canada  when  they  were  '  sold '  by  their 
Sovereign  to  fight  for  England  in  the  American  War  of  Inde- 
pendence. His  wife  and  children  followed  him  there.  Thus 
a  connection  with  England  and  English  taste  came  to  influence 
the  German  homes  of  the  Reuss  family.  This  intercourse  con- 
tinned  during  those  long  years  when  England,  as  the  enemy 
of  France,  was,  as  it  were,  the  last  hope  of  the  Continent. 
Countess  Reden's  biography,  after  it  had  been  published  in 
Germany,  came  out  in  an  English  edition.  It  was  originally 
written  by  a  very  distinguished  pen — Princess  Leonore  Reuss, 
nee  Countess  Stolberg-Wernigerode." 

We  took  sundry  drives  in  the  neighbourhood,  visiting  some 
foresters  and  other  dwellers  on  the  estate.  The  ease  and 
comfort  visible  and  the  mutual  g-oodwill  evinced  everywhere 
left  a  most  pleasant  memory  on   the  mind  of  the  visitor.      My 

189 


GERMAN    MEMORIES 

hostess  kindly  suggested  that  I  might  extend  my  visit,  and 
when  I  regretted  my  inabihty  to  do  so  graciously  pressed  me 
to  come  again. 

My  second  visit  to  Trebschen  a  couple  of  years  later  fell  in 
the  shooting  season,  in  the  latter  part  of  August.  The 
younger  generation  went  out  partridge-shooting  with  the 
guests,  while  Prince  and  Princess  Reuss  took  their  easels  out  of 
doors,  making  sketches  in  water-colours  from  nature,  and  very 
good  ones  too,  the  Prince,  in  particular,  being  an  accom- 
plished artist.  When  we  returned  to  the  chateau  with  our 
bag  of  game  we  inspected  the  day's  work  of  the  master  and 
mistress  of  the  house.  We  had  wrought  havoc  amongst  the 
feathered  tribe,  whilst  they  had  passed  their  time  in  repro- 
ducing something  beautiful  from  nature.  Prince  Reuss  was 
close  upon  eighty  years  of  age  at  that  time. 

There  is  no  country  in  which  ladies  of  rank  are  greater 
sticklers  for  etiquette  in  their  dealings  with  the  outer  world 
than  in  Germany,  living  what  they  call  standesgcmdss ;  but 
there  is  also  no  country  in  which  they  are  more  domesticated 
and  more  concentrated  on  the  details  of  housekeeping.  The 
salads  would  be  mixed  at  table  either  by  the  lady  of  the 
house  or  the  daughter,  and  if  a  guest  showed  a  preference  for 
any  dish  the  chances  were  that  on  his  next  visit  he  would  find 
it  figuring  in  the  first  day's  mcmi.  If  it  was  the  shooting 
season,  when  the  party  started  early  in  the  morning,  it  would 
have  been  considered  poor  treatment  of  a  guest  if  the  lady  of 
the  house  and  her  daughter  were  not  down  to  breakfast,  and  to 
wish  the  shooting-party  Waidmanns  He'd! 

Prince  Reuss  loved  to  sit  on  the  terrace  facing  the  park 
surrounded  by  his  family  circle,  basking  in  the  sun,  on  a 
beautiful  summer  day.  Although  of  a  naturally  reserved 
and  retiring  disposition,  as  were  the  well-bred  Germans  of  the 
Prince's  generation,  he  would  readily  enter  into  conversation 
with  a  visitor  in  whom  he  might  presume  a  certain  familiarity 
with  political  matters  in  which  he  himself  had  played  a  leading 
part.  And  when  he  did  so  it  was  with  an  engaging  frankness, 
so  free  from  the  personal  note  that  it  was  as  if  listening  to  the 
190 


PRINCE    REUSS    VII 

experiences  of  a  third  person  rendered  in  the  form  of  the 
historical  present.  Such  communications  could  only  come  as 
a  high  compliment  to  those  who  knew  that  the  Prince  had 
always  declined  to  entertain  the  appeals  of  the  professional 
memoir-hunters  of  the  German  periodical  press,  and  had 
never  allowed  anything  to  be  published  in  which  he  himself 
had  played  a  part.  Thus  what  he  said  possessed  not  only  the 
charm  of  unadorned  personal  narrative,  but  came  as  a  revela- 
tion of  important  historical  matter — as  such,  indeed,  even  at 
the  present  moment. 

It  is  well  known  that  in  the  critical  days  following  the 
battle  of  Sadowa,  the  King  of  Prussia  sent  Prince  Reuss,  until 
then  Prussian  Minister  at  Munich,  to  Paris  on  a  special 
mission  to  the  Emperor  Napoleon  III.,  a  task  calling  for  most 
delicate  handling. 

"  The  Emperor  Napoleon  had  telegraphed  to  the  King  the 
day  after  the  battle  of  Sadowa,  offering  his  mediation  between 
the  contending  Powers.  The  answer  we  sent  was  friendly,  but 
without  entering  into  the  subject,  for  we  were  in  a  dilemma 
how  to  meet  this  interference,  being  determined  to  follow  up 
the  advantages  already  gained. 

"  Bismarck  asked  me  whether  I  was  prepared  to  start  at 
once  on  a  mission  to  Paris,  a  question  which  I  answered  in 
the  affirmative.  Bismarck  continued :  '  Prussia  can  only 
entertain  an  armistice  if  the  fortresses  of  Koeniggraetz,  Josef- 
stadt,  and  Leitmeritz  are  handed  over  to  us  and  an  extensive 
line  of  demarcation,  including  Prague,  be  agreed  upon.  We 
would  not  allow  our  advance  to  be  stopped  pending  negotia- 
tions.' Bismarck  mentioned  as  among  the  proposed  conditions 
of  peace  a  reconstruction  of  the  Federal  body  (Bvjidesrcform) 
upon  a  basis  already  known  to  the  Emperor  Napoleon  and 
approved  by  him. 

" '  The  Elbe  Duchies  are  to  come  to  Prussia,  several  of  the 
governments  which  are  inimical  to  us  (but  which  are  not 
specified)  are  to  be  changed,  military  conventions  to  be 
arranged   with    others,  and  a  Parliament  bjised  upon   direct 

191 


GERINIAN    MEMORIES 

election  is  to  be  (■.illed.'  These  were  the  approximate 
instructions  with  which  I  was  to  accompany  the  autograph 
letter  of  the  King,  which  was  less  precisely  worded, 

"'If  Napoleon,'  continued  Bismarck,  'should  not  show 
himself  agreeable  to  our  j)ropositions,  and  intends  to  oppose 
our  plans  and  thus  drive  us  to  extremes,  you  are  to  give  him 
to  understand  that  we  are  prepared  to  light  up  a  conflagration 
in  Germany.  We  do  not  shrink  from  the  alternative  of 
appealing  to  the  German  democracy,  of  proclaiming  Die 
Grnndrechte  ^  and  accepting  the  title  of  Emperor,  and  Napo- 
leon will  see  that  he  is  mistaken  if  he  reckons  upon  the  help 
of  the  revolution  in  Germany.  If  he  should  mention  Villa- 
franca  and  reproach  us  that  it  was  we  who  forced  him  to 
conclude  peace  before  his  programme  was  carried  out,  you 
can  tell  him  that  this  is  not  true.  The  Note  which  at  that 
time  we  sent  to  Vienna  giving  notice  of  our  intention  to  cease 
to  remain  neutral  arrived  too  late,  and,  unfortunately,  the 
Emperor  Napoleon  had  concluded  peace  too  hastily.  If  the 
question  of  compensation  should  arise,  you  will  give  him  to 
understand  that  German  territory  can  in  no  case  be  given  up, 
but  if  he  should  seek  compensation  elsewhere  this  would  not 
concern  us.  The  aim  of  your  Paris  mission,  after  having 
delivered  the  autograph  letter  of  King  William,  would  be 
merely  to  show  yourself  there  and  to  keep  the  French 
occupied.'' 

"  In  other  words,  I  was  to  put  myself  in  evidence  as  one 
who  had  been  an  eye-witness  of  our  incredible  successes,  and 
enter  into  casual  conversations,  'just  to  hear  what  people 
might  say. 

"  My  visit  had  already  been  announced  in  writing  to  Napoleon 
III.  I  arrived  in  Paris  in  the  morning,  and  at  two  o'clock  had 
to  present  myself  at  the  Tuileries.   I  went  in  my  military  uniform. 

1  As  the  so-called  Grnndrechte  are  understood  the  guaranteed  rights  and 
liberties  of  the  citizen,  which  in  the  revolution  of  1848  were  held  to  be  the 
fundamentary  rights  of  the  subject;  thus  what  we  understand  under  the  Bill 
of  Rights  and  what  the  French  termed  les  Droits  de  V Homme  in  the  French 
Revolution. 

192 


PRINCE    REUSS    VII 

General  Frossard  was  in  the  anteroom,  a  decided  Prussophobe, 
who  had  in  advance  prophesied  our  inevitable  defeat  with 
pedantic  certainty.  Colonel  Stoffel  was  also  present.  The  starchy 
attitude  of  the  General,  with  whom  I  was  previously  well 
acquainted,  was  amusing.  He  could  not  hide  his  displeasure  at 
meeting  one  who  came  direct  in  triumph,  as  it  were,  from  the 
battlefield  of  Sadowa ;  and  this  attitude  of  his  was  in  a 
measure  indicative  for  me  of  the  feeling  which  dominated 
Paris  at  that  moment.  Consternation  reigned.  People  had 
expected  something  quite  different.  Only  a  few  days  pre- 
viously Paris  had  been  illuminated  because  Austria  had  ceded 
Venice  to  Napoleon,  who  had  passed  this  precious  present  on 
to  Italy.  Victor  Emmanuel,  however,  had  been  true  to  his 
word  not  to  conclude  peace  without  Prussia,  and,  to  the  great 
dismay  of  the  French,  had  declined  to  accept  this  Danaean 
gift.  The  climax  of  disappointment  was  that  victorious  and 
lucky  Prussia  should  have  found  an  ally  into  the  bargain  ! 
The  whole  plot  so  cleverly  conceived  by  Austria  and  accepted 
by  France  had  failed.  Poor  Metternich  (the  Austrian  Ambas- 
sador in  Paris)  was  in  despair,  V^alewski  in  a  fury  of  passion, 
the  politicians  of  the  clubs  were  staggered,  the  Emperor  was 
in  a  dire  dilemma.  It  was  only  among  the  lower  orders  of 
the  population  that  one  met  with  that  kind  of  sympathy 
which  the  uneducated  always  feel  for  a  deed  of  energy 
crowned  with  success. 

"  Napoleon  received  me  in  a  friendly  spirit,  but  the  interview 
did  not  leave  a  very  satisfactory  impression  on  my  mind.  I  missed 
that  calm  deliberation  and  clearness  which  at  other  times  I  had 
been  accustomed  to  observe  in  this  Sovereign.  The  Emperor  did 
not  seem  to  have  a  good  conscience,  and  was  evidently 
oppressed  by  a  certain  perplexity  how  to  get  out  of  a  difficult 
situation,  which,  as  regards  Italy,  he  had  created  for  himself. 
He  wanted  to  know  the  conditions  of  peace  which  would 
follow  upon  an  armistice.  I  replied  that  this  was  outside 
my  mission.  But  I  could  assure  him  that  King  William 
would  be  exceedingly  moderate  in  his  demands,  despite  the 
feeling  of  the  Prussian  people,  who  were  beginning  to  insist 

N  193 


GERMAN    MEMORIES 

categorically  that  Prussia  should  not  give  up  her  conquests ; 
the  Emperor  himself  had  declared  that  our  project  of  reform 
of  the  Federal  Constitution  would  not  collide  with  the 
interests  of  France.  We  would  adhere  to  this.  Great  was 
my  surprise  to  hear  that  Napoleon  was  only  cognisant  in  a 
general  way  of  this  project  of  reform.  '  Possibly  Count  von 
der  Goltz  (Prussian  Ambassador  in  Paris)  might  have  spoken 
to  him  about  it/  he  said.  *  It  was  also  possible  that  he  (the 
Emperor)  had  not  expressed  himself  unfavourably  with  regard 
to  it ;  but  in  no  wise  dould  he  remember  to  have  definitely 
approved  of  it."*  He  said  he  did  not  even  know  what  its 
exact  nature  was.  I  did  not  hide  my  astonishment  on  hearing 
this  statement.  I  assured  the  Emperor  that  King  William 
was  honestly  convinced  that  Napoleon  had  approved  of  these 
plans,  and  that  we  could  firmly  rely  on  his  approval.  The 
conversations  which  Bismarck  had  had  with  Napoleon  in  1865 
at  Biarritz,  before  this  project  of  reform  had  been  venti- 
lated by  Prussia,  were  bound  to  have  conveyed  the  conviction 
to  the  King  that  Napoleon  was  in  full  agreement  with  the 
plans  of  Prussia. 

"  Napoleon  was  evidently  in  a  quandary  as  to  how  to 
extricate  himself  from  this  series  of  facts  which  told  against 
him.  He  said  that  Prussia,  without  Austria  as  a  counter- 
weight, would  become  too  powerful  a  neighbour  for  France. 
The  quintessence  of  Napoleon"'s  attitude  seemed  to  be  pre- 
occupation regarding  the  increased  power  of  Prussia,  the 
jealousy  of  the  French  in  connection  therewith,  and  the 
duplicity  of  the  Austrians,  who  had  led  him  to  believe  that 
they  had  100,000  men  under  the  walls  of  Olmiitz  and 
intended  to  give  battle  there,  whereas  they  were  now  being 
driven  back  upon  Vienna  and  retreating  into  Hungary. 
Napoleon  declared  that  we  should  be  straightforward  with  him 
('  avant  tout  etre  franc  avec  moi ')  and  communicate  our  condi- 
tions of  peace  and  our  intentions  generally  to  him.  He  also 
wanted  us  to  insist  upon  Italy  ('  ils  sont  si  absurdes  "*)  making 
peace  simultaneously  with  Austria  ('  ils  sont  si  a  bas,  qu'ils 
accepteront  vos  conditions '). 
194. 


PRINCE    REUSS    VII 

"  General  Fleury  alone  was  favourably  inclined  towards  us. 
Napoleon,  evidently  much  preoccupied,  came  back  again  and 
again  as  to  what  were  our  real  conditions  of  peace — and  what 
after  ?  Only  with  difficulty  and  under  certain  modalities 
would  he  be  able  to  control  the  excited  feeling  of  the  French. 
As  to  compensation,  he  did  not  formulate  anything  definite, 
but  the  Empress  said,  '  There  must  be  a  neutral  State 
between  you  and  us ' ;  and,  half  in  earnest  and  half  in  ironical 
jest,  she  endeavoured  to  sketch  such  a  State  with  her  pencil  on 
a  map  of  our  Western  frontiers.  After  dinner,  in  the 
Tuileries,  the  Emperor  again  seemed  full  of  anxiety  and 
uneasiness  as  he  walked  with  me  for  an  hour  up  and  down  the 
terrace  planted  with  lime-trees  in  front  of  the  Seine,  con- 
tinually wanting  to  know  '  A  quoi  voulez-vous  en  venir  ? ' 
(What  would  our  annexations  include  ?)  Napoleon  confessed, 
'  J'avoue  franchement  que  j'ai  eu  tort  d'accepter  tout  de  suite 
le  cadeau  que  me  faisait  TAutriche  en  me  sacrifiant  la  Venetie. 
Mais  que  voulez-vous  ?  J'ai  ete  flatte  de  voir  TAutriche, 
vaincue  par  moi,  m'apporter  spontanement,  et  comme  un  don, 
la  province  que  je  n'ai  pas  voulu  conquerir  en  1859.  ITun 
autre  cote  je  pense  quMl  serait  plus  simple  pour  les  Italiens 
de  prendre,  sans  coup  ferir,  une  belle  province,  au  lieu  de 
laisser  peut-etre  40,000  hommes  devant  les  places  fortes. 
Mais  quoi  qu'il  en  soit,  c'est  fait,  et  il  faut  en  sortir.  S'il  y 
avait  uii  armistice  prompt,  il  y  aurait  moyen  de  se  tirer 
d''afFaire,  et  c'est  pour  cela  que  je  suis  si  impatient  d'arriver  a 
cet  armistice."* 

^'Napoleon  was  in  the  greatest  embarrassment  regarding 
Italy,  and  indeed  with  regard  to  the  whole  situation.  He  said 
nobody  could  form  an  adequate  conception  of  the  difficulty 
of  his  position.  Imbued  with  the  best  intentions  for  Germany, 
he  yet  could  never  know  whither  he  would  be  driven  ! " 

Prince  Reuss  suggested  that  he  should  return  to  King 
William  and  report  to  him  clearly  how  he  had  found  things 
in  France.  Napoleon  consented  and  gave  him  an  autograph 
letter  for  the  King. 

Many  years  afterwards  in   Paris,  at  the  Hotel  Continental, 

195 


GERMAN    MEMORIES 

within  sight  of  the  spot  where  once  stood  the  Tuileries,  and 
which  now  has  been  converted  into  a  beautiful  garden — the 
very  terrace,  with  the  lime-trees  still  visible,  in  the  shade  of 
which  Prince  lleuss  had  walked  with  Napoleon  III.  on  that 
memorable  day  of  July  1866 — there  sat  an  old  lady  looking 
out  of  the  hotel  window.  Her  eyes  wandered  dreamily  over 
the  grounds  opposite,  where  a  heap  of  brickwork,  a  ruin,  was 
the  only  remnant  of  former  palatial  splendour.  When  she  was 
asked  how  she  could  possibly  bear  this  sight,  her  answer  came : 
"  Oh  !  le  passe  n'existe  pas  pour  moi ! "  It  was  the  Empress 
Eugenie. 

The  last  time  I  was  at  Trebschen  was  at  Easter  1906. 
Prince  Reuss  was  already  ailing,  and  was  only  allowed  to  see 
visitors  for  a  few  minutes  at  a  time.  But  down  to  the  very 
last  his  interest  was  so  vivid  in  everything  connected  with 
international  political  life  that  he  was  eager  to  have  news  from 
the  outside  world.  In  common  with  all  distinguished  Germans 
of  mature  age  I  have  met,  Prince  Reuss  was  deeply  concerned 
with  the  unsatisfactory  relations  between  Germany  and 
England.  His  last  words  to  me  were,  "  Fahren  Sie  fort  im 
guten  Sinne  zu  xvirken  "  ("  Continue  to  work  in  a  beneficent 
spirit*" — a  reference  to  my  literary  activity  at  the  time). 
Another  subject  of  the  Prince"'s  anxiety  was  the  growing 
materialism  of  the  age,  the  development  among  the  German 
well-to-do  classes  of  a  tendency  to  live  for  show,  and  the  undue 
importance  attached  by  the  present  generation  to  the  super- 
ficialities, the  external  side  of  life,  as  revealed  by  the  general 
craving  for  and  the  lavish  and  promiscuous  distribution  of 
decorations,  for  which  Count  Posadowsky  has  coined  the  phrase 
"  Die  Verdusserlichung  innerer  Werthe "  (the  vulgarisation  of 
inner  values). 

"They  may  say  what  they  will,"  the  Prince  exclaimed, 
"  but  a  decoration  is  {ist  und  hleibt)  a  means  of  corruption 
{^Ein  Corruptionsmittd).''''  It  was  on  this  occasion  that  I  met 
two  sisters  of  the  Kiistritz  branch  of  the  Reuss  family  domiciled 
at  Ernstbrunn  in  Austria,  the  elder  of  whom.  Princess  Eleonore, 
196 


PRINCE    REUSS    VII 

has  since  married  King  Ferdinand  of  Bulgaria  and  is  now 
Tsaritsa  of  the  Bulgarians.  She  had  only  recently  returned 
from  Russia,  where  she  had  gone  through  the  Russo-Japanese 
campaign  as  a  nurse  to  the  Russian  wounded.  She  had  been 
appointed  by  the  Grand  Duchess  Wladimir  as  matron  of  the 
hospital  train  which  her  Imperial  Highness,  as  head  of  the  Red 
Cross  Committee,  called  into  activity  for  the  war.  With  her 
staff  of  nurses  the  Princess  underwent  hardships  of  which  the 
severities  of  the  climate  were  not  the  least.  On  her  return 
home  she  went  out  as  a  simple  district  nurse,  helping  thereby  a 
small  sisterhood  of  deaconesses.  Her  sister,  also  a  trained 
nurse,  did  some  splendid  service  as  matron  of  a  hospital  in 
Hanover.  Ever  eager  to  help  whenever  she  could,  iiayant 
de  sa  personne,  she  and  her  sister  belong  to  the  increasing 
number  of  ladies  of  the  upper  classes  on  the  Continent,  not  of 
Germany  alone,  to  whom  high  birth  does  not  mean  an  idle 
existence,  but  a  life  of  all-round  usefulness,  for  which  Princess 
Eleonore  has  since  found  an  abundant  scope  in  her  new 
sphere.  She  had  read  an  article  which  I  had  written  in  the 
Deutsche  Rundschau  on  my  experiences  in  Moscow  during 
the  revolution  of  1905-6,  and  was  much  interested  in  the  sad 
conditions  prevailing  there.  She  was  afraid  that  the  revolu- 
tionary movement  might  not  lead  to  any  tangible  benefits 
for  what  she  termed  the  real  people :  the  soldiers,  the 
sailors,  and  the  peasants.  "  I  have  gone  through  those  hard 
times  of  war  and  revolution  with  them,"  she  said,  "  nursing 
them,  watching  them,  and  caring  for  them  so  long,  that  I 
learnt  to  love  and  respect  their  admirable  qualities,  their 
patient  endurance  of  suffering,  their  right  feeling  and  sound 
common  sense.  These  in  the  long  run  will,  I  hope  and  trust, 
help  them  to  their  proper  place  and  keep  them  in  the  right 
way." 

Altogether  I  found  in  this  distinguished  family  that  birth  is 
an  incentive,  and  does  not  constitute  a  claim  in  itself.  Thus 
the  younger  generation  is  brought  up  in  modesty  to  look 
up  to  their  seniors,  to  respect  age,  to  admire  high  character 
and  intellectual  attainments  wherever  they  are  met  with  ;  not 

197 


GERMAN    MEMORIES 

to    put    themselves   forward   with    undue  familarity  in    conver- 
sation, but  to  practise  reserve  and  self-restraint. 

Princess  Reuss  in  particular,  like  her  aunt,  the  Empress 
Augusta,  considers  that  her  Weiniarian  traditions,  the  friend- 
ship between  Goethe  and  her  ancesters,  lay  a  special  obligation 
upon  her  and  her  family  to  lead  useful  and  ennobling  lives,  and 
above  all  to  foster  the  traditions  of  her  House  in  this  direction. 
Indeed,  the  more  that  I  saw  of  this  cultivated  family  circle 
the  more  I  became  convinced  that  balance  of  character  as  ex- 
emplified in  happy  family  life,  sincerity,  lowliness  of  heart, 
not  self-indulgence  and  brutal  self-assertion,  were  at  the  root 
of  almost  everything  worth  achieving  that  has  been  accom- 
plished in  Germany  in  our  time.  Where  these  elements  have 
been  lacking — even  in  the  case  of  genius — the  work  done 
has  been  of  a  devastating,  sirocco-like  kind,  and  the  ultimate 
benefit  to  the  community  of  a  questionable  character. 

We  read  in  Prince  Hohenlohe's  Memoirs  that  when  Princess 
Marie  Alexandrine,  daughter  of  the  late  reigning  Grand  Duke 
Karl  Alexander  of  Saxe- Weimar,  married  Prince  Reuss,  the 
match  was  held  in  some  of  the  Court  circles  to  be  almost  a 
mesalliance  on  her  part.  Such  are  the  chimera  to  which  those 
still  cling  whose  main  chance  of  retaining  their  privileged 
position  must  ultimately  de})end  upon  the  distinction  of 
character  exemplified  by  the  best  among  their  caste. 

Thus,  although  ii  v/as  a  new  departure  for  the  daughter  of  a 
reigning  Sovereign  to  become  an  Ambassadress,  the  Princess 
herself  rejoiced  that  her  marriage  should  have  opened  up  to  her 
a  beneficent  sphere  of  activity  in  assisting  her  husband  to  ser\'e 
his  country  as  the  representative  of  his  Sovereign  in  his 
Ambassadorsliip  abroad.  Many  keen  observers  of  Germany  are 
of  opinion  that  the  hold  of  the  German  Sovereign  Princes  over 
the  affections  of  their  countrymen  depends  upon  their  human 
attributes,  and  upon  little  else.  Germany  will  never  forget  that 
it  was  a  Duke  of  Saxe- Weimar  who  befriended  Goethe,  and 
even  German  democracy  will  bear  in  mind  that,  after  the  war 
of  Liberation,  of  all  German  Sovereigns  he  was  the  only  one  who 
kept  his  promise  to  grant  a  constitution  to  his  countrymen. 
198 


PRINCE    REUSS    VII 

Shortly  after  my  return  to  England,  in  the  summer  of  1906^ 
I  received  a  telegram  from  Princess  Reuss  announcing  the  death 
of  her  husband,  regarding  whom  one  who  knew  him  intimately 
writes  me  as  follows  : 

"  His  political  instinct,  his  tact,  his  delicacy  of  touch  in  the 
management  of  affairs,  were  remarkable.  For  at  certain  critical 
junctures  the  alternative  of  peace  and  war  may  be  said  to  have 
been  balanced  at  the  point  of  his  pen. 

"  It  impressed  me  deeply  to  find  him,  at  such  a  moment, 
sitting  in  prayer  in  front  of  his  writing  materials.  '  May  God 
grant  to  me  His  grace  to  give  correct  expression  to  the  right 
thoughts,  so  that  bloodshed  may  be  avoided,'  and  God  heard  his 
prayer,  so  full  of  simple  faith  and  trust.  There  was  rarely  his 
like,  so  absolutely  exempt  was  he  from  every-day  vanity  and 
the  pettiness  of  things.  He  combined  rare  modesty  with  a 
certain  loftiness ;  the  union  of  a  chastened  spirit  with  the  wide 
range  of  a  superior  mind,  and  with  it  there  was  a  delightful 
buoyancy  and  freshness  about  him.  I  fancy  it  was  his  love  of 
art  and  nature  that  gave  this  mellowness  to  his  mind.  It 
enabled  him  to  see  so  much  of  the  beauty  of  things,  so  much  of 
their  deeper  import.  This  again  may  have  had  something  to  do 
with  his  charming  social  qualities,  his  keen  sense  of  humour,  for 
he  thus  perceived  many  things  unseen  by  his  entourage.  The 
circumstance  that  he  was  a  keen  sportman  and  an  excellent  shot 
also  brought  him  into  constant  touch  wibh  nature.  It  was 
interesting  to  see  how  the  artist  and  the  sportsman  were  blended 
in  him  and  completed  each  other.  They  kept  him  young. 
Thus  he  was  always  the  best  playmate  for  his  children,  their 
constant  companion,  and  the  source  of  their  happiness,  as  they 
were  of  his.  He  spread  sunshine  over  the  house,  and  created 
that  happily  blended  atmosphere  in  which  the  young  generation 
grew  up. 

"  It  was  your  good  fortune  to  know  him  and  to  have  felt  the 
charm  of  his  personality  ;  I  wish  you  had  seen  more  of  him." 


199 


CHAPTER    XVII 

WEIMAR 

In  the  summer  of  1903  I  paid  a  short  visit  to  Weimar,  for 
which  purpose  Princess  Reuss  gave  me  several  letters  of  intro- 
duction, notably  one  to  Frau  Elisabeth  Foerster-Nietzsche,  the 
sister  of  the  great  writer.  Weimar  had  been  the  Princess''s 
Thuringian  home,  where  she  was  born,  and  is  a  shrine  in  which 
everything  is  sacred  to  her,  more  particularly  that  belonging  to 
the  great  past ;  and  every  one  making  a  pilgrimage  there  would 
be  sure  in  advance  of  her  interest  and  encouragement. 

About  a  hundred  years  ago  Goethe,  Schiller,  and  the 
Humboldts  dominated  not  only  Weimar  but  the  intellectual 
world  of  Germany.  Their  praise  could  make,  their  disapproval 
mar,  a  reputation.  To-day  this  autocratic  power  over  the 
minds  of  their  fellows  is  possessed  by  no  man.  The  louder  the 
shout  of  the  megaphone,  the  shriller  the  note  of  the  steam- 
whistle,  the  less  heed  people  pay  to  them  ;  till  at  last  they  pass  as 
unnoticed  as  the  monotonous  moan  of  the  "  siren  "  at  sea. 
Nietzsche  embodies  the  revolt  against  this  shouting  tendency 
on  the  one  hand  and  the  callous  indifference  of  the  crowd  on 
the  other,  and  that  one-sided  education,  which  the  Germans 
term  Halb-bildu?ig,  which  produces  a  surface  familiarity  with 
a  host  of  things  and  a  real  knowledge  of  nothing,  the 
aggressive  arrogance  of  which  was  never  more  rampant  than 
to-day,  and  has  aroused  the  concern  of  the  cultivated.  It 
is  well  authenticated  that  certain  writings  of  Goethe  and 
Schopenhauer,  each  in  his  time,  wrought  havoc  upon  unbalanced 
minds.  Nietzsche,  by  his  passionate  intellectuality  clothed 
in  the  most  alluring  literary  form,  has  achieved  the  feat  of 
appealing  simultaneously  to  the  intellectual  and  the  moralist, 
200 


WEIMAR 

the  buffoon  and  the  immorahst  of  every  country.  The  former 
take  Nietzsche''s  ideas  into  account,  weigh  and  discuss  them  ; 
the  latter  strut  about  braying — Bottom-like — in  Nietzsche's 
lion  skin,  to  the  discomfort  and  annoyance  of  the  sober  members 
of  the  community.  It  is  noteworthy  that  Nietzsche  himself 
foresaw  and  foretold  this  dubious  outcome  of  his  own  writings  ; 
for  whereas  he  naturally  intended  to  appeal  to  the  higher 
instincts  of  mankind,  the  vain  ass,  the  neurotic,  the  degenerate, 
the  erotomaniac,  and  a  host  of  other  candidates  for  criminal 
honours  have  recognised  their  own  image  in  the  figure  of  the 
Superman  which  Nietzsche  held  up  to  them  and  rejoiced 
accordingly.  Thus  he  laid  down  the  axiom  that  the  first 
converts  to  a  creed  do  not  necessarily  prove  anything  against  it. 

Whatever  may  be  thought  of  Nietzche's  Iconoclastic  propa- 
ganda, the  man  who  had  the  audacity  to  tell  his  countrymen 
they  have  no  future,^  that  their  nobility  has  been  vitiated  by 
Christianity  and  alcohol  ^  and  cannot  take  rank  with  that  of 
France  and  England,  possesses  that  supreme  degree  of  moral 
courage  without  which  no  gift  of  intellect  or  insight  can  make 
a  prophet  or  a  reformer.  Fortunately  for  the  progress  of 
mankind,  for  the  welfare  of  the  human  race  in  general,  the 
strongest  and  the  best  will  always  decline  to  accept  the 
Categorical  Imperative,  whether  it  be  from  a  Sovereign  or  a 
self-styled  prophet.  Some  of  Nietzsche's  own  disciples  are 
inclined  to  believe  that  the  inevitable  reaction  against  this  latest 
development  of  the  spirit  of  revolt  may  yet  tend  towards  an 
early  and  much  needed  return  to  the  recognition  of  Biblical  Law 
— at  least,  to  those  paragraphs  thereof  which  inculcate  reverence 
and  decency  of  conduct,  and  ordain  : 

"  Thou  shalt  honour  thy  father  and  thy  mother  ;  that  thy 
days  may  be  long  in  the  land  which  the  Lord  thy  God  giveth 
thee. 

"  Thou  shalt  not  commit  adultery. 

1  The   Case  against  Wagner  (page   65,   English   edition)  :   "  The   Germans 
themselves  have  no  future." 

2  Tlie   Antichrist   (page    227,    English    edition)  :   "The    German    nobility 
scarcely  takes  a  place  in  the  history  of  higher  culture." 

201 


GERMAN    MEMORIES 

"  Thou  shalt  not  bear  false  witness  against  thy  neighbour. 

"  Thou  shalt  not  covet  thy  neighbour's  house ;  thou  shalt 
not  covet  thy  neighbour's  wife,  nor  his  manservant,  nor  his 
maidservant,  nor  his  ox,  nor  his  ass,  nor  anything  that  is  his."" 

For  the  moment,  however,  Nietzsche  has  become  one  of  the 
driving  intellectual  forces  identified  with  the  little  Thuringian 
Residenz-Stadt  where  he  spent  the  last  days  of  his  life,  nursed 
and  cared  for  by  his  devoted  sister. 

Frau  Foerster-Nietzsche  is  a  lady  of  great  intellectual  force 
and  combative  energy,  qualities  which  she  has  devoted  to  the 
task  of  championing  the  memory  of  her  distinguished  brother, 
to  whom  she  was  passionately  attached.  Moreover,  she  has 
spent  iS^l 0,000  in  bringing  out  different  editions  of  his  works. 
She  has  turned  her  handsome  villa  residence — Villa  Silberblick, 
in  the  Louisenstrasse,  where  Nietzsche  died — into  a  museum, 
called  the  Nietzsche  Archiv,  in  which  Nietzsche's  manuscripts 
and  personal  relics  are  carefully  arranged  and  preserved  for  all 
time.  A  sum  of  ,£'20,000  has  been  placed  at  Frau  Foerster's 
disposal  for  this  purpose  by  a  Swedish  admirer  of  Nietzsche's 
philosophy.  It  was  there  that  I  called  upon  her,  and  met 
with  the  kindliest  reception.  She  took  me  all  over  the  house, 
which  is  beautifully  situated  on  a  hill  with  a  broad  view  into 
the  valley  and  the  hills  beyond.  "  Silver  View  "  is  the  name 
which  Nietzsche  gave  to  the  panorama  as  he  sat  during  his 
years  of  illness  looking  out  of  the  window,  cogitating  over  the 
glory  of  life  which  he  was  prevented  from  enjoying,  leaving 
him  only  the  faculty  of  admiring  nature  in  its  loveliness  from 
afar — imprisoned  like  Heinrich  Heine  in  his  mattressed  tomb. 

Those  who  have  been  privileged  to  come  into  personal 
contact  with  Nietzsche's  sister,  and  to  take  cognizance  of  her 
whole-souled  devotion  to  her  brother's  memory,  can  scarcely 
fail  to  have  been  impressed  by  her  great  courage,  her 
exceptional  mental  attainments,  as  well  as  the  charm  of  a 
dominant  personality.  Indeed,  with  regard  to  her  extra- 
ordinary, almost  provocative,  courage,  some  have  sought 
a  connection  here  with  one  of  Nietzsche's  favourite  assertions 
that  his  family  was  really  of  Polish  descent,  the  Polish 
202 


WEIMAR 

women  being  at  all  times  noted  for  their  combative  courage. 
The  acrimonious  personal  attacks  which  Frau  Foerster-Nietzsche 
has  been  subjected  to  in  German  periodical  literature  do  not 
throw  a  sympathetic  light  on  the  character  of  certain  sections 
of  intellectual  Germany  of  the  present  day  ;  even  less  do  they 
point  to  the  success  of  Nietzsche's  propaganda  to  inculcate  a 
higher  standard  of  life  for  his  countrymen,  which  can  only  be 
attained  by  a  greater  degree  of  loyalty,  mutual  respect, 
appreciation,  and  generosity  obtaining  towards  each  other. 

Frau  Foerster-Nietzsche  presides  in  Weimar  over  a  circle  of 
intellectual  people.  She  arranges  lectures  and  discussions  in 
which  many  distinguished  persons  take  part.  Visitors  come  from 
all  parts  of  the  world — India,  Japan,  America  and  Australia ; 
and  so  great  has  been  the  crush  of  late  that  she  has  been 
obliged  at  times  to  have  a  notice  put  up  that  the  Nietzsche 
Archiv  is  closed  ! 

Of  greater  pretensions,  however,  than  this  Nietzsche  memorial 
is  the  Goethe  and  Schiller  Archiv,  from  which  the  idea  of  the 
former  was  evidently  derived.  I  brought  a  letter  of  introduc- 
tion to  Professor  Suphan,  the  Director  of  the  latter,  by  whom 
I  was  shown  over  the  beautiful  building.  It  stands  on  a  hill, 
like  some  Greek  temple,  its  style  being  obviously  taken  from 
Hellenic  models,  the  little  river  Ilm  flowing  past  through  the 
valley,  in  which  Goethe  used  to  take  his  summer  bath.  It  is 
devoted  to  the  preservation  of  the  Goethe  and  Schiller  manu- 
scripts, which  are  carefully  arranged  in  showcases  in  the  British 
Museum  manner. 

It  is  only  since  the  death  of  Walther  von  Goethe  (1885),  a 
grandson  and  last  surviving  descendant  of  tlie  poet,  that  these 
have  been  accessible  to  the  public.  He  bequeathed  all  the 
literary  remains  of  his  illustrious  ancestor  to  the  mother  of 
Princess  Reuss,  the  Grand  Duchess  Sophia  of  Saxe  Weimar,  to 
dispose  of  as  she  might  think  fit ;  and  right  worthily  did  she 
fulfil  her  trust.  Although  not  a  born  German  (she  was  a 
daughter  of  King  William  II.  of  the  Netherlands)  she  was 
enthusiastic  in  her  attachment  to  the  literary  traditions  of 
Weimar.     She  considered  this  legacy  in  the  light  of  a  high 

203 


GERMAN    MEMORIES 

honour,  a  weighty  responsibility,  and  determined  to  deal  with 
it,  in  accordance  with  the  universal  character  of  Goethe"'s 
genius,  for  the  benefit  of  the  world  at  large.  She  appealed  to 
the  most  eminent  authorities  on  Goetlie  lore  to  assist  her  in  this 
endeavour.  The  first  requirement  was  a  suitable  building  in 
which  to  preserve  these  priceless  treasures  of  intellectual 
Germany.  No  appeals  were  issued  for  public  pecuniary  support, 
although  they  would  have  been  fully  justified.  Out  of  her  own 
private,  none  too  ample,  fortune  the  Grand  Duchess  caused 
the  present  noble  structure  to  be  erected. 

It  is  characteristic  of  the  independence,  not  to  say  the 
almost  aggressive,  individuality  of  the  Avorld  of  scholarship  that 
the  generous  initiative  of  the  Grand  Duchess  did  not  at  once 
secure  its  unanimous  approval.  Professor  Hermann  Grimm, 
the  eminent  Goethe  scholar,  for  instance,  did  not  look  upon  the 
project  with  a  benevolent  eye  ;  it  is  even  said  that  he  took  up 
an  attitude  of  legal  opposition  in  regard  to  it.  It  also  shows 
the  influence  such  men  possess  over  the  public  mind  that  this 
opposition  of  the  plain  Berlin  professor  could  have  made  itself 
felt  as  an  inconvenience,  even  a  hindrance.  However,  "  All's 
well  that  ends  well,"  and  Hermann  Grimm  came  at  last  to 
approve,  to  bless,  and  to  co-operate  with  the  Grand  Duchess  in 
her  labour  of  examining  and  arranging  the  manuscripts  and 
bringing  out  the  complete  edition  of  Goethe's  works  known  as 
the  "  Sophien  "  edition.  Unfortunately,  Grimm's  death  inter- 
fered with  the  completion  of  her  cherished  project  that  he 
should  write  a  standard  life  of  Goethe,  the  contents  of  which 
she  herself  had  already  planned,  chapter  for  chapter,  as  they 
are  to  be  seen  in  her  own  handwriting  in  the  Goethe  and 
Schiller  Archiv. 

The  building  contains,  in  addition,  a  suite  of  comfortable 
rooms,  where  students  find  the  quiet  and  congenial  surroundings 
conducive  to  work.  The  idea  of  the  foundress  was  that 
students  from  all  parts  should  come  here,  as  to  a  shrine,  and 
take  away  something  of  its  literary  traditions  to  remain  with 
them  as  a  talisman  through  life,  something  of  the  large- 
mindedness  of  those  who  lived  and  worked  here  in  the  past,  and 
204 


WEIMAR 

of  the  spirit  of  appreciation  "  for  the  true,  the  beautiful,  and 
the  good,"  with  which  the  Princess  herself  was  imbued  in 
creating  this  foundation.  It  is  worthy  of  note  that  the 
contents  of  the  Archiv  have  been  largely  increased  since 
it  was  founded.  The  name  of  Schiller  was  added  only 
subsequently.  I  myself  had  the  good  fortune  to  possess  an 
autograph  letter  of  Schiller's  wife,  which  has  also  found  a 
place  here. 

Among  others  to  whom  I  had  brought  letters  of  introduction 
was  Hofrath  Carl  Ruland.  At  one  time  private  secretary  and 
librarian  to  our  Prince  Consort,  he  had  passed  the  later  years 
of  his  life  in  Weimar,  where  he  had  been  president  of  the 
Goethe  Society  for  seven  years.  A  tall,  well-preserved,  genial 
old  gentleman  —  the  German  professor  of  bygone  simple 
days  with  something  of  the  courtier  added — I  found  him 
surrounded  by  his  books  in  a  plainly  furnished  flat.  The 
Hofrath  was  enthusiastic  in  his  appreciation  of  the  kindness 
manifested  by  the  English  Royal  Family  to  all  those  who  had 
ever  served  the  Prince  Consort ;  and  he  related  to  me  some 
striking  instances  of  the  kindly  recollection  shown  him  by 
different  members  of  the  English  Royal  Family,  and  especially 
by  King  Edward  VII. :  "  When  King  Edward's  coronation 
was  about  to  take  place  I  wrote  His  Majesty  a  dutiful  letter 
of  congratulation.  As  you  may  remember,  the  ceremony  was 
fi^ed  to  take  place  on  a  Thursday.  I  posted  my  letter  on  the 
previous  Tuesday,  hoping  that  it  might  come  into  his  hands 
on  the  day  of  his  coronation.  But,  as  fate  would  have  it,  on 
that  very  Tuesday  the  world  was  startled  by  the  news  that  the 
King  had  been  operated  on  for  appendicitis.  In  my  sorrow 
and  excitement  I  forgot  all  about  my  congratulatory  letter. 
Imagine,  then,  my  surprise  when  the  following  Sunday's  post 
brought  me  a  letter  of  thanks,  with  His  Majesty's  own 
autograph  signature ;  so  that  he  must  have  signed  it  at  latest 
within  three  days  of  undergoing  that  operation !  When  I 
think  of  the  King's  illness,  and  the  numerous  letters  he  must 
liave  received,  I  confess  I  am  still  perfectly  astonished  at  his 
kind  thought  for  an  old  servant  of  his  family." 

205 


GERMAN    MEMORIES 

I  met  Herr  Ruland  again  two  years  afterwards  at  the 
Schiller  centenary.     He  died  in  1907. 

I  had  witnessed  as  a  boy  in  Dresden  the  centenary  of 
Schiller's  birth  in  1859,  so  I  thought  I  should  like  to  attend 
the  centenary  of  his  death,  which  was  celebrated  at  Weimar  in 
the  month  of  May  1905,  and  I  journeyed  from  England 
expressly  for  the  purpose. 

Many  visitors  had  come  from  afar  to  be  present  at  the 
ceremony,  and  those  who  felt  that  their  position  entitled 
them  to  do  so  inscribed  their  names  at  the  Grand  Uucal 
Palace.  At  nine  o'clock  in  the  morning  the  whole  of  Weimar 
was  gathered  together  on  the  Markt  Platz  and  marshalled  in 
line  by  the  Buergermaster,  in  order  to  walk  in  a  procession 
five  deep  to  the  Fiirstengruft,  where  Schiller's  remains,  close 
to  those  of  Goethe,  rest  in  the  mausoleum  beside  those  of  the 
Grand  Ducal  family.  It  was  a  thrilling  moment  when  the 
procession  started,  and  when  simultaneously  all  the  church 
bells  of  Weimar  were  set  ringing.  We  were  told  afterwards 
that  this  was  likewise  the  case  at  the  same  hour  throughout 
the  whole  of  Germany. 

An  awning  was  erected  exactly  opposite  Rietschel's  beautiful 
joint  statues  of  Goethe  and  Schiller  in  front  of  the  theatre. 
There  the  Grand  Duke,  in  uniform,  surrounded  by  his  suite, 
awaited  the  deputations  of  eighty-three  different  universities 
and  high  schools  that  had  come  to  Weimar  for  the  occasion. 
An  enormous  crowd  filled  every  space,  even  the  roofs  of  the 
houses,  as  the  students  in  their  picturesque  garb  filed  past 
the  Grand  Duke. 

In  the  evening  one  of  Schiller's  plays,  Demetrius^  was  given 
at  the  Court  Theatre,  followed  by  a  magnificent  rendering  of 
Beethoven's  Ninth  Symphony  with  a  full  choir  drawn  from 
the  citizens  of  Weimar,  the  ladies  in  white,  the  men  in  evening 
dress.  The  house  in  which  Schiller  lived  and  died  was 
illuminated. 

Before  I  left  Weimar  I  was  privileged  to  meet  the  German 
poet  Ernst  von  Wildenbruch,  who  was  staying  with  his  wife  at 
the  Russische  Hof.  He  intended  to  leave  Berlin  and  take 
206 


WETMATl 

up  his  permanent  residence  in  Weimar,  where  he  owned  a 
charming  villa  overlooking  Goethe"'s  garden  and  the  Grand 
Ducal  Park,  and  where  for  several  years  he  was  the  centre  of  a 
circle  of  intellectual  friends  and  admirers.  But,  alas  !  he  was 
already  suffering  from  heart  disease,  and  did  not  live  to  carry 
out  his  project ;  and  now  his  widow  has  turned  his  beautiful 
residence  into  a  home  for  widows  of  indigent  authors.  Like  so 
many  other  distinguished  Germans  I  have  met  of  recent  years, 
Herr  von  Wildenbruch  was  much  concerned  over  the  o;rowinfr 
estrangement  between  England  and  Germany,  which  he  deeply 
deplored ;  for  he  belonged  to  those  highly  cultured  Germans 
who,  next  to  their  own  country,  felt  most  attracted  towards 
the  land  of  Shakespeare  and  Byron.  He  was  the  author  of 
several  plays  dealing  with  the  past  history  of  Prussia,  and, 
being  an  illegitimate  descendant  of  the  House  of  Hohenzollern, 
he  was  looked  upon  by  many  as  a  literary  champion  of  that 
dynasty.  In  later  years,  however,  he  had  taken  up  a  broader 
and  more  independent  attitude,  and  had  constituted  himself 
the  protagonist  of  the  literary  heroes  of  Germany,  more 
especially  of  Goethe  and  Schiller.  He  wrote  a  stirring  poem 
on  the  anniversary  of  Schiller's  death,  entitled  Heros  bleib  bei 
uns.  He  was  also  a  fierce  opponent  of  the  prevailing  mania 
for  restoring  the  historical  castles,  and  in  a  widely  circulated 
pamphlet  had  attacked  the  Grand  Duke  of  Baden  for  his  share 
in  restoring,  and,  as  he  contended,  spoiling,  the  magnificent 
ruins  of  the  old  castle  of  Heidelberg.  It  is  worthy  of  note 
that,  while  the  influence  of  distinguished  personalities  in  the 
political  arena  has  steadily  declined,  in  the  world  of  learning 
and  literature  men  like  Mommsen,  Hermann  Grimm,  Gerhardt 
Hauptmann  and  others,  are  able  to  appeal  to  public  opinion 
with  a  strong  backing.  Thus  Wildenbruch  could  take  it  upon 
himself  to  address  crowned  heads  almost  on  terms  of  equality 
— de  puissance  a  puissance — as  was  done  by  the  poet  Bjornson 
to  the  late  King  of  Sweden,  and  by  scholars  in  the  days  when 
Erasmus  was  proclaimed  the  greatest  man  of  his  age  and  made 
his  triumphal  progress  from  Strasburg  to  Basel  amid  the 
admiring  acclamation  of  a  whole  people. 

207 


GERMAN    MEMORIES 

In  the  summer  of  1909  I  came  again  to  Thuringia  on  a 
visit  to  some  old  friends,  when  I  received  a  letter  from  Princess 
Reuss  asking  me  to  pay  her  a  visit  at  the  chateau  of  Wilhelms- 
thal,  where  she  was  staying  with  her  nephew  the  Grand  Duke, 
or  to  meet  her  at  the  Wartburg.  As  I  had  with  me  my  son, 
to  whom  I  wanted  to  show  the  Wartburg,  I  chose  the  alterna- 
tive. We  met  in  the  afternoon  and  were  received  with  great 
courtesy  by  Captain  von  Cranach,  a  descendant  of  the  great 
painter  of  that  name,  and  commander  of  the  castle.  We  were 
taken  all  over  this  wonderful  relic  of  the  Middle  Ages,  and, 
by  special  permission  of  the  Grand  Duke,  inspected  those  parts 
which  are  rarely  shown  to  visitors,  including  the  apartments 
reserved  for  the  reigning  family  in  which  the  Princess  had  spent 
many  of  her  young  days.  We  dined  in  the  quaint  Romanesque 
hall,  said  to  be  the  Kemenata  of  St.  Elizabeth,  which, 
together  with  other  parts  of  the  castle,  known  everywhere 
through  Wagner's  Tannhdvser,  were  artistically  restored  by 
the  late  Grand  Duke  Karl  Alexander,  the  father  of  Princess 
Reuss. 

It  happened  to  be  the  2nd  of  September,  the  Sedantag,  so 
we  had  the  advantage  of  seeing  the  castle  lit  up  at  night. 
The  pathway  through  the  forest  is  provided  with  electric 
lights,  which  Herr  von  Cranach  caused  to  be  kept  alight  for  us 
on  our  way  back  to  Eisenach  late  in  the  evening. 


208 


CHAPTER   XVIII 

PRINCE    BULOW 

A  LIMITED  set  of  men,  and  of  women  too,  hcos  always  existed 
and  is  still  to  be  found  on  the  Continent  who  lead  an  inner 
life,  unaffected  by  the  current  values  of  the  crowd.  Indeed, 
the  very  fact  of  their  existence  as  a  class  is  scarcely  known  to 
the  general  public  ;  for,  although  united  by  sympathy  of 
thought  and  ideas,  these  people  are  divided  by  nationality  as 
well  as  by  worldly  station.  Cash  values  or  the  lack  of  them 
count  for  little  here.  Thus  it  may  come  to  pass  that  a  man 
living  in  a  garret,  who  is  unknown  to  his  next-door  neighbour, 
let  alone  to  the  augurs  of  publicity  in  his  own  country,  may 
be  acclaimed  as  an  equal  among  what  Mommsen  called  "  les 
intellectuels  ^  all  over  Europe  and  the  United  States,  and 
thus  illustrate  in  his  own  person  the  difference  between  the 
appreciation  of  the  few  and  that  of  the  crowd,  which  is  more 
and  more  becoming  the  only  arbiter  of  fame,  transitory  though 
it  be.  Peasant's  sons,  Socialists,  are  to  be  met  here  where  lords, 
spiritual  and  temporal,  might  seek  admission  in  vain.  Princes, 
and  even  monarchs,  do  not  necessarily  obtain  recognition 
where  Spinoza,  Goethe,  and  a  few  minor  gods  are  accorded 
supreme  reverence. 

I  am  referring  to  that  intellectual  elite ^  the  few  men  and 
women  in  whom  the  best  culture  of  an  age  is  reflected  as  in 
a  mirror,  not  to  the  mere  compiler  of  books,  the  marvel  of 
learning,  the  prodigy  of  omnivorous  knowledge  and  reading, 
but  the  product  of  an  aristocratic  bent  of  heart  and  mind, 
bom  in  the  cottage  more  often  than  in  the  palace,  and  chastened, 
not  coarsened,  by  contact  with  the  world  :  individuals  in 
whom  the  megala  psyche  of  the  Greeks  has  culminated  in   a 

o  209 


GERMAN    MEMORIES 

harmonious  conception  of  life,  its  dignity,  its  loftiest  aims. 
Not  the  least  interesting  fact  connected  with  the  former 
Chancellor  of  the  German  Empire  is  that  he  can  lay  claim 
to  belong  to  this  exclusive  set. 

Before  Prince  Biilow  came  to  Berlin,  in  1896,  as  Foreign 
Secretary,  he  had  served  as  a  diplomatist  in  most  of  the  great 
capitals  of  Europe.  There  he  always  sought  out,  by  pre- 
ference, the  company  of  the  intellectual  few.  Thus  in  Paris 
he  associated  with  the  philosopher  Caro ;  the  Russian  poet, 
Turgeniev  ;  the  brilliant  writers,  Francis  and  Gabriel  Charmes, 
Pallain,  Gabriel  Monod,  the  historian,  and  others.  At 
St.  Petersburg  he  came  into  contact  with  the  poet  Grigoro- 
witsch  ;  and  the  widow  of  the  poet,  Alexei  Tolstoi,  Countess 
Alexandrine  Tolstoi,  a  highly  gifted  personality.  In  Rome  he 
met  Bonghi,  the  historian  de  Cesare,  and  Count  Pasolini ; 
the  great  physicist  Blaserna ;  Professor  Boni,  the  eminent 
director  of  the  excavations  in  the  Forum  ;  the  mathematician, 
Brioschi  ;  and,  in  early  days,  Mommsen,  Gregorovius,  and 
Malvida  von  Meysenbug,  the  authoress  of  the  "  Memoirs  of 
an  Idealist." 

Prince  Biilow  comes  of  a  very  old  and  distinguished  family 
whose  records  go  back  to  the  twelfth  century,  and  which  in  the 
course  of  seven  hundred  years  has  produced  a  very  large  number 
of  soldiers,^  churchmen,  diplomatists,  statesmen,  authors,  and 
artists.  Even  within  the  last  hundred  years  there  are  twelve 
entries  to  the  credit  of  the  Biilow  family  in  Brockhaus'  work  of 
Universal  Biography.  The  significance  of  this  record  will  be 
best  understood  when  it  is  borne  in  mind  that  many  equally 
ancient  noble  families  have  not  produced  a  single  member 
whose  life"'s  work  has  been  deemed  important  enough  to 
warrant  mention  in  Brockhaus :  the  mere  fact  of  princely 
birth  or  exalted  position  in  the  service  of  the  State,  such  as 
Ambassador   or   even   Minister  of    the    Crown    by   no   means 

^  A  General  von  Biilow  won  the  battle  of  Grossbeeren,  August  23,  1813, 
against  Marshal  Oudinot ;  the  battle  of  Dennewitz,  September  6,  against 
Marshal  Ney ;  and  besides  took  a  prominent  part  in  the  crowning  victory  of 
Waterloo. 

210 


PKIXCE  BULOW 


PRINCE    BULOW 

implies  a  biographical  mention  in  this  stupendous  work  of 
reference,  compared  with  the  cosmopolitan  comprehensiveness 
of  which  the  Encyclopaedia  Britannica  is  as  an  ""  orphan 
child " !  It  is  interesting  to  note  that  Prince  Billow's 
mother,  as  also  Bismarck  and  Moltke's  mothers,  did  not 
belong  by  birth  to  the  nobility. 

A  writer  in  the  Nineteenth  Century  of  December  1908, 
gives  the  following  graphic  picture  of  the  Prince's  personal 
appearance,  which  it  would  be  difficult  to  improve  upon  : 

"  In  personal  appearance  the  Chancellor  is  a  worthy  re- 
presentative of  that  Mecklenburg  aristocracy  the  gallant 
bearing  of  whose  members  made  such  an  impression  on  the 
great  Napoleon  that  he  said  to  his  Marshals,  '  I  can  make 
you  into  kings  but  not  into  Mecklenburg  nobles/  Tall, 
with  a  stately  carriage  of  the  head,  and  shoulders  which 
give  him  grace  and  distinction,  he  has  the  broad  brow  of 
intellect ;  and  a  mouth  and  chin  (clean-shaven  except  for 
the  soldierly  moustache)  which  show  courage,  energy  and 
decision.  But  it  is  the  eyes  which  arrest  attention — eyes 
beautiful  and  fearless,  that  meet  you  with  a  directness  and 
sincerity,  rare  indeed  in  any  class,  but  for  a  diplomatist 
almost  unique.  It  is  a  face,  steadfast,  proud  and  self-reliant ; 
yet  with  a  sunny-tempered  kindness  and  grace  in  it  which 
win  straight  to  the  heart.""  ^ 

The  Prince's  popularity  with  all  classes  of  the  community 
was  due  to  that  urbanite  de  coeur  which  is  a  product  of 
true  mental  culture,  the  refinement  of  one  of  Nature's  gentle- 
men. Again,  as  a  Minister  for  Foreign  Affairs  he  enjoyed 
in  a  high  degree  the  confidence  of  the  great  majority  of  the 
German  people — notably  of  the  allied  German  Sovereigns,  fore- 
most among  whom  was  that  large-hearted  man,  the  venerable 
Regent  of  Bavaria,  and  his  noble  son  and  heir.  Prince  Ludwig. 

Prince  Billow's  triumphant  self-reliance,  his  sunny  optimism, 
his  natural  bonhomie^  added  to  an  element  of  "  sophrosyne,"  mark 
the    well-balanced    gentleman    among    surroundings    in    which 

1  Prince  Billow,  an  Appreciation,  by  Sidney  Garfield  Morris.     Nineteenth 
Century  and  After,  December  1908. 

211 


GERMAN    MEMORIES 

these  characteristics  are  not  too  plentiful.  These  qualities  made 
friends  for  him  among  Liberals  and  even  Socialists,  in  spite 
of  his  boast  that  he  wished  to  be  considered  an  agrarian 
Chancellor.  When  the  Prince  was  suddenly  taken  ill  in  the 
Reichstag,  Bebel  happened  to  be  speaking  and  was  much 
concerned  at  the  Prince's  condition  and  its  possible  connection 
with  political  polemics.  This  tribute  of  sympathy  from  such 
a  quarter  was  appreciated  as  only  appreciation  can  come 
where  the  beat  of  a  human  heart  is  there  to  register  it. 
Biilow  invariably  "  scored "  over  the  Socialists  in  debate  by 
his  humorous  yet  good-tempered  readiness  of  retort.  He 
proved  also  to  be  well  advised  when,  in  1903,  in  the  face 
of  an  unexpected  increase  of  Socialist  seats  in  the  Reichstag, 
he  opposed  all  attempts  at  nervous  anti-Socialist  legislation, 
and  promised  to  make  the  "  House "  so  comfortable  "  that 
all  and  every  one  should  feel  at  home  in  it." 

My  acquaintance  with  Prince  Biilow  was  a  legacy  I  took 
over  from  the  Bismarck  family  :  for  I  feel  sure  that  it  was 
mainly  due  to  my  connection  with  the  latter  that  Herr  von 
Billow,  as  he  then  was  (Secretary  of  State  for  Foreign  Affairs), 
welcomed  me  as  he  did  during  the  Spanish-American  War 
as  representative  of  the  New  York  Herald.  Since  that  time 
I  have  never  been  to  Berlin  without  paying  him  my  respects, 
and  being  honoured  in  return  by  his  delightful  hospitality  and 
that  of  Princess  Biilow.  Notably  was  this  the  case  during  the 
momentous  period  of  the  Algeciras  Conference,  when  I  again 
represented  the  same  paper,  and,  with  the  Prince's  assistance, 
drew  up  the  interview  in  which  the  much-quoted  phrase 
occurred  that  there  should  neither  be  vainquetirs  nor  vaincus 
in  the  discussion  of  the  Moroccan  question  at  Algeciras. 
During  that  period  I  was  repeatedly  a  guest  at  the  Reichs- 
kanzler  Palais.  One  evening  after  dinner  the  Princess  showed 
me  over  the  Palace.  This  gave  me  the  material  for  the 
followhig  little  sketch,  which  I  contributed  at  the  time  to 
the  Schlesische  Zeitimg : 

"  If  I  am  guilty  of  a  slight  indiscretion,  it  is  that  it  seems 
that  the  feeling  of  reverence  for  the  great  dead  is  a  little  out 
212 


PRINCE    BULOW 

of  fashion  in  high  circles.  Likewise  it  would  appear  that  in 
those  spheres  people  no  longer  possess  the  simplicity,  the 
sincerity,  of  their  forbears.  Thus  it  comes  to  us  as  a  revela- 
tion when  we  now  and  then  meet  with  characteristics  which 
were  once  exemplified  in  kings,  and  at  all  times  were  a  mark  of 
gentle  breeding. 

"  Princess  Biilow  conducted  me  through  the  spacious 
apartments  of  the  Reichskanzler  Palace.  We  passed  through 
the  imposing  salon,  which  has  beoome  historical,  inasmuch  as 
the  Berlin  Conference  in  1878  held  its  sittings  there,  and 
entered  the  suite  of  rooms  in  which  the  Princess  herself  now 
reigns  as  one  of  the  most  charming  of  hostesses.  They  are 
filled  with  art  treasures  brought  from  her  southern  home  : 
pictures,  antique  majolicas  and  bronzes,  beautifully  worked 
Venetian  glass ;  everything  ordered  with  consummate  taste 
in  its  proper  place.  Queen  Margherita  of  Italy,  '  La  bella 
Regina,"*  by  Lenbach,  is  on  the  wall  and  next  to  it,  linvned 
by  the  same  master-hand,  the  gifted  step-daughter  of  Min- 
ghetti — the  Princess  herself.  A  very  splendour  of  Italian 
taste  and  dignity  strikes  the  eye.  The  further  end  of  the 
drawing-room  is  arranged  as  a  conservatory  and  filled  with 
plants.  There  is  the  laurel,  the  gentle  myrtle,  not  to  forget 
the  palm  in  all  its  graceful  and  majestic  splendour.  They 
complete  the  picture.  An  abundance  of  grace  is  blended 
here  in  the  most  beautiful  harmony.  I  felt  as  if  a  breath 
of  the  glorious  Italian  Renaissance  had  been  wafted  up  here 
into  these  chilly  northern  shores,  for  it  was  mid-winter. 

" '  But  come  along  with  me,'  quoth  my  companion,  in- 
terrupting my  expressions  of  admiration.  '  You  knew  Prince 
Bismarck ;  let  me  show  you  the  pieces  of  furniture  which  once 
belonged  to  him,  which  we  treasure  in  his  memory.' 

"  We  entered  a  large  room,  bare  of  all  ornament,  except 
that  a  thoughtful  portrait  of  Bismarck  (again  painted  by 
Lenbach)  looked  down  upon  us  from  the  wall.  Two  plain 
writing-tables  stand  side  by  side,  such  as  were  in  use  about 
fifty  years  ago,  and  take  up  nearly  a  whole  side  of  the 
room.      They  are  locked,  and  are  to  remain   locked  by  order 

213 


GERMAN    MEMORIES 

of  the  present  appreciative  tenant.  Two  little  brass  plates 
notify  that  they  once  belonged  to  Prince  and  Princess 
Bismarck. 

"  '  This  was  his  first  writing-table  during  the  most  anxious 
period  of  his  life,  the  first  half  of  the  Sixties,'  said  the 
Princess.  '  My  husband  had  these  plates  fixed,  for  we  both 
feel  that  it  would  be  a  desecration  on  our  part  to  use  what 
once  belonged  to  that  great  man  ! ' " 

Both  the  Prince  and  Princess  were  partial  to  sociability  on 
a  small  and  intimate  scale — lunches  or  dinners  "  im  kleinen 
Kreis,"  as  the  Germans  term  them.  General  conversation 
in  which  all  should  take  part  was  the  staple  entertainment. 
I  have  often  noticed  the  kindly  consideration  with  which  the 
Prince  would  endeavour  to  draw  a  guest  out  who  might  have 
felt  reluctant  to  join  in  where  the  standard  was  naturally 
a  high  one.  Music  was  tabooed  as  being  an  anti-social 
feature  which  might  possibly  not  appeal  to  all.  Thus 
although  Princess  Blilow  is  a  devotee  to  music,  and  I  have 
repeatedly  been  her  guest  when  the  Russian  pianist  Sapellnikow 
was  also  present,  never  a  note  was  played  as  long  as  other 
guests  were  present. 

In  August  of  1906  I  paid  a  visit  to  Prince  Biilow  at 
Norderney,  and  in  the  same  month  of  1908  I  went  again  to 
see  him  at  the  same  place.  On  my  arrival  the  Prince's  aide- 
de-camp,  Captain  von  Schwarzkoppen,  called  at  my  hotel  and 
brought  me  a  kindly  message  from  him.  He  hoped  I  w^ould 
come  to  dinner  at  the  villa,  and  if  my  son  was  with  me,  that  I 
would  bring  him  too :  this  is  only  one  of  the  many  kind 
attentions  I  have  received  at  the  Prince's  hands. 

During  my  stay  I  had  several  talks  with  the  Prince  bearing 
on  the  relations  between  Germany  and  England,  the  gist  of 
which  was  published  in  the  Standard  of  September  14,  1908. 
At  this  distance  of  time  it  is  unnecessary  to  reproduce  that 
which  was  of  purely  temporary  interest. 

In  his  later  years  Prince  Bismarck  often  made  use  of  a 
saying  to  the  effect  that  Europe  would  never,  in  the  long  run, 
tolerate  the  dominant  hegemony,  the  dictatorship  of  any  one 
214 


PRINCE    BULOW 

single  Power  or  person.  The  exact  words  employed  by 
Prince  Bismarck  were  in  English :  " ,  .  .  Only,  no  cock-of- 
the-walk  business :  Europe  will  not  put  up  with  it."  Europe 
as  an  entity  would  resent  as  derogatory,  if  not  as  intolerable, 
a  situation  in  which  it  might  come  to  pass  that  an  individual 
would  arrogate  to  himself  the  attribute  of  being  supreme 
arbiter  of  war  and  peace,  the  latter  to  depend  upon  his 
benevolent  intentions  periodically  vouchsafed  to  the  world  as 
free  gifts,  to  be  received  in  an  attitude  of  grateful  humility. 

The  question  might  naturally  suggest  itself  to  Englishmen 
how  the  eventuality  foreshadowed  by  Bismarck  would  be  likely 
to  affect  England,  in  case  such  a  truculent  figure  should  appear 
on  the  European  stage.  The  prospect  seemed  to  justify  a 
certain  anxiety  in  face  of  a  situation  which  might  conceivably 
arise  at  any  moment  and  place  the  peace  of  the  world — and 
with  it  the  security  of  an  Empire  embracing  one-fifth  of  the 
inhabited  globe — at  the  mercy  of  one  Power,  or  even  of  a 
single  individual !  Nor  could  this  uncertainty  be  considered  to 
be  entirely  eliminated  even  were  it  frankly  recognised  that  such 
a  Power  or  personage  was  imbued  with  the  very  best  inten- 
tions, and,  above  all,  inspired  by  a  genuine  love  of  peace.  For 
there  are  always  accidents  to  be  reckoned  with,  more  particularly 
in  the  case  of  individuals. 

The  warning  example  of  Louis  XIV.,  of  Napoleon  I.,  and, 
to  a  lesser  degree,  of  Napoleon  III.,  were  ever  present  to 
Bismarck's  mind.  It  is  true  that  he  himself  was  at  one  time 
more  or  less  the  "  cock  of  Europe,"  and  he  was  fully  conscious 
of  the  responsibilities  and  dangers  of  the  position.  But  in  his 
day  France  still  figured  before  the  world  as  a  possible  disturber 
of  European  peace,  as  the  champion  of  a  hotly  desired 
"  revanche,"  whereas  Bismarck,  even  when  some  of  his  methods 
may  have  been  unpalatable  to  European  statesmen,  invariably 
got  credit  for  honestly  desiring  peace  as  sincerely  as  his  old 
master,  if  only  in  order  to  keep  what  Germany  had  won  at 
the  price  of  terrible  sacrifices ;  in  other  words,  Bismarck's 
aims  were  openly  avowed  and  known  to  foreign  Governments 
to  be  peaceful  and  moderate,  as  graphically  circumscribed  by 

215 


GERMAN    MEMORIES 

his  own  faniuus  saying  that  to  Germany  the  whole  Kastern 
Question  was  not  worth  the  bones  of  a  single  Pomeranian 
Grenadier.  Added  to  this  there  was  the  prestige  of  his  un- 
paralled  achievements.  Hence  many  Englishmen  who  are 
anti-German  to-day  were  sincere  admirers  of  Bismarck  and 
friendly  in  their  sentiments  towards  Germany. 

Since  then  much  has  changed.  France  no  longer  stands  in 
the  foreground  as  a  likely  disturber  of  peace ;  other  elements 
of  unrest  have  taken  her  place,  concerning  which,  however,  it 
would  be  inopportune  to  enter  into  details.  It  will  be 
sufficient  to  say  that  much  of  the  anti-German  sentiment 
existing  in  England  may  be  traced  to  a  feeling  of  uncertainty 
as  to  the  political  aims  of  Germany.  It  would  thus  seem 
to  be  desirable  to  demonstrate  to  the  world  at  large  that 
the  ingredients  of  unrest  above  referred  to  are  not  sympathised 
with  by  the  German  nation — in  other  words,  that  ambitious 
Pan-Germanic  ideals  form  a  negligible  quantity,  and,  finally, 
that  no  single  individual  possesses  the  power  to  disturb  the 
peace  of  the  world ;  but  the  process  of  enlightenment  should 
proceed  without  trespassing  upon  the  legitimate  sensibilities 
of  the  German  people. 

I  made  no  secret  of  this  connection  of  ideas  in  my  inter- 
course with  Prince  Biilow,  as  I  had  reason  to  believe  that  they 
were  held  by  a  large  number  of  Englishmen.  My  host  was 
equally  frank  in  his  endeavour  to  remove  all  justification  for 
uneasiness  on  this  score.  Without  entering  upon  a  direct 
rejoinder,  he  assured  me  that  one  of  the  greatest  dangers  of 
the  present  day  is  the  exaggerated  importance  attached  by  the 
newspaper-reading  public  to  casual  utterances  of  highly  placed 
personages  without  reference  to  the  circumstances  and  con- 
ditions of  mind  under  which  they  had  been  made.  Altogether 
people  are  in  the  habit  of  talking  in  public  and  "  at "  the  public 
far  more  than  formerly.  But  very  few  such  utterances  are  to 
be  taken  in  the  wide  application  often  attributed  to  them 
when  separated  from  their  setting. 

Prince  Biilow''s  conversation  in  private  life  was  often  inter- 
spersed with  interesting  references  to  his  great  predecessor, 
216 


PRINCE    BULOW 

and  on  this  particular  occasion,  in  pointing  out  the  difference 
between  words  and  deeds,  he  referred  to  Prince  Bismarck  as 
one  of  those  rare  men  with  whom  it  was  unsafe  to  take  lightly 
anything  he  said,  even  in  moments  of  nervous  irritation.  "  I 
happened  to  call  on  him  in  Berlin  in  the  year  1874,"  he  said; 
"  it  was  in  the  midst  of  his  quarrel  with  Count  Arnim,  who  had 
been  our  Ambassador  at  Paris.  Suddenly  Bismarck  burst  out : 
'  If  Arnim  does  not  give  up  the  documents  {Erlasse)  which  he 
has  in  his  possession,  I  shall  land  him  in  prison  "*  ('  Ich  bringc 
ihn  noch  ins  Zicchthans,''  a  term  conveying  imprisonment,  a 
peine  dure,  for  felony)."  On  leaving  the  apartment  with 
General  von  Schweinitz  we  talked  this  startling  statement  over, 
and  attributed  it  to  an  ebullition  of  temper.  For  the  idea  of 
a  full-blown  Ambassador  being  imprisoned  as  a  common 
malefactor  was  unheard  of  and  could  only  be  regarded  as  a 
joke.  Yet  within  six  months  Arnim  was  arrested,  criminal 
proceedings  were  taken  against  him,  and  he  was  ultimately 
sentenced  in  contumaciam  to  five  years'  imprisonment  {Zui'ht- 
haus).  Prince  Blilow  added  that  this  was,  of  course,  an 
extreme  case,  just  as  Bismarck  was  a  very  exceptional  man  in 
the  doggedness  with  which  he  followed  up  a  course  he  had  once 
entered  upon.  But  others,  though  less  uncompromising  than 
Bismarck,  might  still  be  found  to  be  as  good  as  their  word  by 
their  political  opponents. 

That  the  mutual  distrust  existing  between  England  and 
Germany  should  have  apparently  lost  little  of  its  intensity  in 
his  later  years  was  a  matter  of  deep  concern  to  the  Prince. 
Nor  was  this  by  any  means  the  first  occasion  on  which  he  had 
given  expression  to  his  sentiments  on  this  subject.  He 
considered  the  animosity  between  England  and  Germany  as 
little  short  of  a  species  of  popular  madness  by  whomsoever 
it  was  indulged,  which,  if  persisted  in,  could  only  lead  to 
endless  mischief  to  both  countries  for  the  sole  benefit  of  the 
tertii  gaudentes.  He  expressed  himself  as  most  anxious  to  do 
all  in  his  power  to  put  an  end  to  it,  but  his  power  was 
necessarily  limited.  With  regard  to  English  apprehension  of 
German   naval  aggression,  he   thought  that  it  would  be  more 

217 


GERMAN     MEMORIES 

natural,  and,  therefore,  more  excusable,  if  the   Germans   were 
to  fear  being  attacked. 

"  You  have  never  known  an  invasion,"  he  said,  "  since  the 
time  of  William  the  Conqueror,  and  I  can  assure  you,  not  for 
the  first  time,  and  not  as  German  Chancellor,  but  as  one 
gentleman  to  another,  that  nobody  of  any  sense  or  influence  in 
Germany  dreams  of  picking  a  quarrel  with  England,  much  less 
of  such  an  insane  idea  as  invading  England."  An  English 
illustrated  paper,  with  drawings  of  supposed  German  spies 
gathered  in  an  English  country  inn,  lay  on  the  table,  and 
pointing  to  it,  the  Prince  said  that  the  stories  of  German  spies 
in  England,  which  had  been  recently  circulated,  had  only, 
a  foundation  in  over-heated  imagination.  "  But  for  us 
Germans,"  he  continued,  "  there  is  far  more  tangible  reason  for 
apprehension,  through  our  exposed  geographical  position, 
apart  from  our  dark  historical  background. 

"  It  is  only  a  hundred  years  ago,"  said  Prince  Biilow, 
pointing  to  a  map  of  Germany  before  him,  "  that  this  very 
spot  on  which  we  stand  formed  a  part  of  a  French  department. 
The  towns  of  Bremen,  Liibeck,  and  Hamburg  were  '  nos  bonnes 
villes  de  Bremen,  Luheck,  et  Hamhourg^  under  the  sway  of  the 
French  Empire.  Eleven  young  Prussian  officers  were  tried 
by  court-martial  and  shot  at  Wesel  for  defending  their  own 
country.  In  other  words,  our  people  have  still  a  vivid 
historical  consciousness  of  national  disaster  and  disgrace 
against  a  recurrence  of  which  our  army  is  our  only  safeguard." 

A  German  Chancellor's  position  is  an  arduous  one  at  the 
best  of  times,  even  if  his  secondary  functions  as  President  of 
the  Federal  Council  and  Prussian  Prime  Minister  be  not  taken 
into  account.  To  see  Prince  Biilow  sitting  at  his  desk  with  a 
number  of  finely  pointed  pencils  by  his  side,  together  with 
neat  piles  of  plain  white  notepaper  and  envelopes  of  different 
sizes  carefully  arranged,  side  by  side,  on  a  small  tabouret,  but 
otherwise  without  a  scrap  or  vestige  of  any  papers,  manuscripts 
or  letters  in  the  room,  was  to  gain  an  impression  of  perfect 
order  and  self-control,  and,  finally,  the  conviction  that  only 
a  man  of  the  finest  nerve  balance,  one  who  has  successfully 
218 


PRINCE    BULOW 

practised  Horace"'s  "  Compescc  meniem "  through  hfe,  would 
be  equal  to  the  tasks  which  must  come  daily  before  him. 

During  my  stay  at  Norderney  I  gained  the  impression  that 
should  other  nations  be  bolder  than  Germany,  and  care  to 
challenge  the  world's  sense  of  right  and  wrong,  then  Germany 
would  not  shirk  the  ordeal,  though  with  the  certainty  of  her 
fleet  being  annihilated.  Even  such  a  catastrophe  would  not 
compare  in  magnitude  with  the  disasters  which  Germany 
encountered  in  one  single  campaign  against  the  first  Napoleon, 
and  against  whom  she  ultimately  rose  in  triumph,  for,  as 
Prince  Blilow  expressed  himself:  "Germany  has  invariably 
shown  herself  greater  in  misfortune  than  in  prosperity."  The 
loss  of  her  fleet  would  not  necessarily  deprive  her  of  the 
qualities  which  had  enabled  her  to  build  it,  and  would  still 
leave  Germany  materially  more  powerful  than  she  has  ever 
been  in  modern  times. 

French  public  opinion.  Prince  Billow  assured  me,  had 
credited  Germany  with  warlike  designs,  which  have  since  been 
shown  to  be  baseless.  More  recently  the  opposite  extreme 
impression  had  apparently  prevailed  in  some  places,  namely, 
that  the  Germans,  are,  what  the  French  term  "  Pacificists,"  or 
men  who  are  "  for  peace  at  any  price."  This  view,  besides 
being  an  erroneous  one,  harbours  certain  dangers,  in  illustration 
of  which  the  Chancellor  related  the  following  historical  remini- 
scence :  It  is  well  known  that,  owing  to  the  lack  of  resolution 
on  the  part  of  the  Ministers  of  King  Frederick  William  IV., 
this  otherwise  gifted  monarch  underwent  a  crucial  humiliation 
at  the  hands  of  the  insurgents  in  Berlin  during  the  revolution 
of  1848.  The  mob  brought  the  dead  bodies  of  their 
comrades  who  had  fallen  at  the  barricades  to  the  front  of  the 
palace,  and  obliged  the  King  to  do  homage  to  them. 
Suffering  acutely  under  the  indignity  thus  put  upon  him,  the 
King  went  to  Potsdam  a  few  days  afterwards  and  gathered  a 
number  of  the  officers  of  the  garrison  around  him.  He  was 
about  to  explain  matters  to  them  when  they  rattled  the 
scabbards  of  their  swords  on  the  floor  so  persistently  that  his 
voice   could    not   be  heard.     This  fresh  outrage    so    affected 

219 


GERMAN    MEMORIES 

the  King  that  he  burst  into  tears.  It  is  even  said  that  the 
mental  malady  to  which  he  ultimately  succumbed  first  took 
an  aggravated  form  from  this  occasion. 

Prince  Kiilow  gave  me  to  understand  that  this  case  afforded 
an  apt  illustration  of  the  great  responsibilities  attached  to 
the  position  of  a  monarch,  which  he  could  not  divest 
himself  of.  Whatever  his  personal  inclinations  might  be  he 
could  never  afford  to  have  his  dignity  compromised,  even  by 
internal,  let  alone  external,  influences ;  especially  when  the 
latter  might  affect  the  honour  of  the  nation  before  the  whole 
world. 

The  Prince  remarked  that,  somehow  or  other,  people  seem 
to  think  they  can  do  things  in  Germany  which  would  be 
strongly  resented  if  circumstances  were  analogous  in  other 
countries.  The  Chancellor  here  referred  to  an  article  in  the 
Contemporary  Review  for  July  1908,  which  had  also  simul- 
taneously appeared  in  a  Paris  review,  written  by  the  Polish 
parliamentarian,  Herr  von  Koscielski.  The  Prince  characterised 
it  as  monstrous  that  a  member  of  the  Prussian  Upper  House 
of  the  German  Reichstag  should  take  upon  himself  to  ventilate, 
in  a  foreign  periodical,  his  grievances  against  a  Government  of 
his  own  country,  and  this  in  a  mischievous  spirit  of  mis- 
representation which  had  been  shown  up  over  and  over  again. 
He  said  that  it  would  be  impossible  to  imagine  an  English  or 
French  Party  leader  doing  such  a  thing.  But  German  internal 
affairs  were  thought  to  be  fair  game — the  common  property  of 
outsiders,  to  discuss  and  comment  upon,  and  otherwise  deal 
with  at  their  own  sweet  will. 

Germany  only  desired  to  be  left  alone  to  work  out  her 
salvation  by  attending  to  her  own  affairs,  though  there  is 
naturally  a  line  beyond  which  she  could  not  go,  namely,  to 
accept  national  humiliation.  If  there  be  any  danger  ahead 
it  could  not  be  said  to  arise  from  Germany"*s  desire  to  break  the 
peace,  but  from  a  belief  that  a  preconcerted  intention  existed  to 
coerce  and  injure  her.  The  idea  of  making  the  German  Govern- 
ment responsible  for  German  newspaper  criticisms  of  foreign 
countries — as  if  the  German  Press  was  controlled  from  Berlin 
220 


PRINCE    BULOW 

— is  ridiculous,  and  has  been  proved  to  be  so  times  without 
number.  Hardly  anywhere  is  there  less  centralisation  or 
control  in  the  matter  of  newspapers  than  in  Germany.  This 
is  plainly  made  evident  by  the  constant  Press  attacks  on  the 
Government,  which  do  not  even  stop  short  of  attacking 
German  Sovereigns. 

Touching  upon  the  results  which  might  be  expected  from 
the  meeting  in  1908  between  King  Edward  and  the  Emperor  of 
Russia  at  Reval,  the  Chancellor  did  not  think  that  anything 
startling  need  be  looked  for.  The  Russians  have  enough 
to  do  with  their  own  affairs.  During  the  recent  visit  of 
President  Fallieres  to  Russia  it  is  said  that  forty  political 
executions  took  place.  An  instructive  source  of  information, 
with  regard  to  Russian  affairs,  is  still  to  be  found  in  the 
reports  sent  by  the  late  General  von  Schweinitz  during  his 
stay  as  German  Ambassador  at  St.  Petersburg  from  1876  to 
1892.  They  furnish  even  to-day,  after  so  many  years,  a  key 
to  much  that  has  already  taken  place,  and  is  still  likely  to 
take  place  in  Russia.  This  clear-sighted  observer  pointed  out 
how  every  Russian  war,  without  exception,  had  been  followed 
by  an  internal  upheavel  of  some  kind  or  other — thus,  that  of 
the  Dekabrists  after  the  great  Napoleonic  wars.  The  liberation 
of  the  serfs  followed  upon  the  war  in  the  Crimea,  and  the 
Nihilist  movement  came  on  the  top  of  the  Russo-Turkish 
war  of  1877.  General  von  Schweinitz  was  convinced  that 
the  Emperor  Alexander  III.  would  wage  no  war ;  and  so, 
indeed,  it  turned  out. 

In  connection  with  Russian  diplomacy  in  Turkey,  Prince 
Billow  related  a  characteristic  trait  of  Count  Ignatieff,  when 
he  was  Russian  Ambassador  at  Constantinople.  Instead  of 
paying  his  court  to  the  officials  in  power,  as  most  diplomatists 
would  be  inclined  to  do,  the  clever  Russian  made  it  a  rule  to 
call,  in  a  most  effusive  manner,  on  every  Minister  who  had  just 
fallen  into  disgrace.  Ignatieff  openly  told  his  friends  that  he 
had  two  distinct  motives  in  view  in  acting  thus  :  that  men 
who  had  been  dismissed  from  power  are  likely  to  be  more 
communicative  than  those  in  office,  and  thus  prone  to  let  out 

221 


GERMAN    MEMORIES 

valuable  information  which  they  would  otherwise  keep  to 
themselves.  Besides,  there  could  be  no  knowing  how  soon 
they  might  be  reinstated  in  office ;  in  which  case,  they 
would  naturally  be  well  disposed  towards  an  ambassador 
who  had  shown  them  such  marked  consideration  when  in 
disgrace. 

I  enjoyed  Prince  Billow's  hospitality  for  the  last  time  at 
the  Reichskanzler  Palais,  in  Berlin,  in  January  1909.  The 
idea  of  his  retirement  might  perhaps  already  then  have 
occupied  his  mind,  for  his  last  words  to  me  in  parting  were  : 
"  Come  and  see  me  in  Roma  Eterna,  where  the  palm-tree 
which  Goethe  planted  ^  is  still  to  be  seen  from  our  windows." 
There,  since  he  has  retired  from  office,  Prince  Blilow  spends 
the  winter  months,  in  the  beautiful  Villa  Malta,  one  of  the 
finest  Roman  palaces.  He  passes  the  summer  and  autumn  as 
he  used  to  do  at  Norderney  and  in  the  neighbourhood  of 
Hamburg  where  he  owns  an  estate.  He  takes  no  further 
part  in  politics  ;  but  I  see  a  time  coming  when  the  Germans 
will  not  willingly  allow  their  eminent  men,  those  who  have 
devoted  the  best  years  of  their  life  to  the  service  of  the  State, 
to  recede  into  sterile  inactivity.  Their  presence  will  be 
demanded  in  the  Privy  Council  Chamber,  if  not  in  the  Senate, 
to  take  their  share  in  the  business  of  their  country — the 
national  welfare. 

One  of  the  last  letters  I  received  from  the  Prince,  only  a 
few  months  ago,  contained  the  following  characteristic  passage  : 
"  I  write  to  you  in  German,  as  you  have  a  better  command  of 
that  language  than  I  of  the  tongue  in  which  Byron  Avrote. 
This  reminds  me  that  the  4th  Canto  of  '  Childe  Harold ' 
contains  the  deepest  and  most  brilliant  definition  of  the  Alma 
U?-bs  that  has  ever  been  written." 

1  Goethe  planted  this  palm-tree  in  the  garden  of  the  Villa  Malta  in  the  )'ear 
1788,  in  close  proximity  to  which  many  years  afterwards  King  Ludwig  I.  of 
Bavaria,  the  patron  of  literature  and  arts,  planted  another,  which  is  also  still 
thriving. 


^22 


CHAPTER  XIX 

THE   WILHELMSTRASSE 

My  acquaintance  with  the  Wilhelmstrasse — the  term  has 
come  to  mean  the  Government  offices  in  that  spacious 
thoroughfare — dates  from  the  winter  of  1890-91,  since  when 
I  used  to  look  in  occasionally  to  see  the  late  Under  Secretary 
of  State,  Dr.  Franz  von  Rottenburg.^  It  was  there  that  I  first 
gained  a  casual  insight  into  the  immense  amount  of  hard  work 
expected  of  the  higher  Prussian  State  officials.  Rottenburg 
was  very  busy  then  with  the  tariff  and  customs  negotiations  of 
Germany  and  the  United  States — a  never-ending  source  of 
friction  between  the  two  countries  down  to  the  present  day, 
and  he  complained  of  the  arduous  task  involved  in  dealing 
with  the  astute  Yankees.  Rottenburg  had  lived  in  England 
for  several  years,  and  we  used  to  adjourn  to  the  Kaiserhof  for 
lunch  and  talk  over  what  were  to  him  old  times  and  pleasant 
recollections.  It  was  on  one  of  these  occasions  that  the  late 
Herr  Krupp  came  up  to  our  table  and  finally  invited  us  both 
to  dinner.  I  had  unfortunately  already  accepted  another  in- 
vitation for  the  same  evening,  and  was  obliged  to  decline,  thus 
missing  my  only  opportunity  of  following  up  an  acquaintance 
with  the  richest  man  in  Germany ;  what  the  Germans  call 
"  Ein  schwer  reicher  Mann,"  implying  a  burden  with  its 
attendant  weight  and  anxiety. 

Prince  Bismarck  had  not  yet  been  out  of  office  a  year,  and 
his  retirement  and  everything  connected  with  it  formed  a 
leading  topic  of  conversation  in  Berlin  society ;  particularly  so 

1  Herr  von  Rottenburg  was  subseiuently  appointed  Curator  of  the  University 
of  Bonn,  with  the  honorary  prefix  of  "  Excellency,"  a  post  which  he  held  until 
hia  death  in  1907. 

223 


GERMAN    MEMORIES 

with  Herr  von  Rottenburg,  who  had  been  one  of  the  Prince"'s 
right-hand  men.  Bismarck  was  supposed  to  have  been  the 
architect  of  his  fortunes,  and,  as  rumour  said,  had  expected 
Rottenburg  to  follow  him  into  retirement.  This,  however, 
Rottenburg  had  failed  to  do,  great  pressure  having  been 
brought  to  bear  to  convince  him  that  it  was  his  patriotic 
duty  to  remain  at  his  post  and  give  Bismarck's  successor  the 
benefit  of  his  great  experience  of  Chancellerie  work,  for 
Rottenburg  had  been  what  is  termed  "  Vortragender  Rath"^ 
in  the  Imperial  Chancellerie  under  Bismarck.  This  difficulty 
in  his  position  seemed  to  cause  Rottenburg  a  deal  of  worry,  and 
even  sleepless  nights,  as  he  confided  to  me.  Some  time  after- 
wards, when  I  came  to  be  on  intimate  terms  with  Prince  Bis- 
marck and  his  family,  Rottenburg  asked  me  on  several 
occasions  whether  Prince  Bismarck  ever  mentioned  him ;  in 
case  he  shoiild  do  so,  I  might  explain  to  him  the  mental 
difficulty  in  which  he  had  been  placed.  In  July  1892,  I  was 
walkinjr  with  Bismarck  through  a  wood  near  Kissingen  when  I 
told  the  Prince  of  Rottenburg's  distress,  and,  mindful  of  the 
saying  that  a  spoonful  of  oil  is  often  of  more  benefit  to  us 
than  a  quart  of  vinegar,  I  asked  him  to  authorise  me  to 
transmit  a  few  kind  words  to  Rottenburg.  Bismarck,  perhaps 
moved  by  the  warmth  of  my  intercession,  smiled  in  that 
peculiar  way  of  his  when  about  to  say  something  pointed, 
and  replied  by  a  well-known  quotation  from  the  Freischiltz, 
"  Schwach  bin  ich,  dock  Jcein  Bosewicht,''''  ^  implying  that  it  had 
been  weakness,  not  wickedness,  which  had  caused  Rottenburg, 
as  the  Prince  thought,  to  desert  him  and  to  remain  at  his 
post,  instead  of  following  his  chief  into  retirement.  Of  course, 
I  did  not  repeat  this  to  Rottenburg,  but  when  he  questioned 
me  again  I  told  him  that  Bismarck  had  spoken  kindly  of  him. 
This  I  could  the  more  readily  reconcile  with  my  conscience  as 
the  imputation  of  weakness  was,  after  all,  a  venial  one  as  com- 
pared with  that  of  ingratitude,  which  Bismarck  was  reported 
to  have  hurled  at  Rottenburg. 

1  Privy  Councillor,  privileged  to  confer  directly  with  the  Minister  of  State. 
-  I  am  weak,  but  not  a  villain. 

^24 


THE    WILHELMSTRASSE 

Herr  von  Rottenburg,  whose  first  wife  was  an  English  lady, 
subsequently  married  the  daughter  of  Mr.  Phelps,  United 
States  Ambassador  at  Berlin,  and  took  a  flat  in  the  Dorotheen- 
strasse,  where  I  was  his  guest  on  several  occasions. 

Like  many,  if  not  most,  Prussian  high  officials,  Rotten- 
burg was  a  man  of  wide  intellectual  culture,  not  merely  a 
linguist  (for  among  cultivated  Germans  the  knowledge  of  half 
a  dozen  languages — Greek,  Latin,  French,  Italian,  English, 
and  possibly  Spanish — is  not  at  all  rare,  and  would  only 
mean  the  possession  of  the  raw  materials,  the  tools  for  the 
cultivation  of  the  mind),  but  endowed  with  great  philoso- 
phical as  well  as  literary  accomplishments.  In  this  respect 
Rottenburg  probably  stood  above  the  average.  More 
especially  was  he  at  home  in  the  domain  of  the  "  Staatswissen- 
schaften  "  (political  sciences),  implying  a  thorough  knowledge 
of  history,  political  economy,  and  international  law,  on  which 
subjects  he  might  well  have  been  on  a  par  with  his  more 
famous  colleague,  Lothar  Bucher.  I  still  possess  a  copy 
of  his  work,  Der  Begriff  des  Staates,  with  an  autograph 
dedication,  a  work  revealing  an  intimate  knowledge  of  the 
philosophy  of  history.  Socialism  was  another  subject  on 
which  he  was  an  authority.  He  made  a  deep  study  of  Karl 
Marx's  epoch-making  book,  Das  Kapital,  and  was  fond  of 
expatiating  on  what  he  considered  to  be  its  logical  fallacies 
(notably  Marx's  omission  to  give  rightful  prominence  to 
intellect  and  the  genius  for  organisation  as  wealth-producers 
in  addition  to  mere  human  labour). 

Association  with  the  ornamental  side  of  diplomatic  life  and 
high  society  was  not  without  a  certain  attraction  for  Rotten- 
burg, for  I  possess  a  portrait  of  him  in  Court  dress  with  escarpms 
revealing  a  shapely  leg.  But  acquaintance  with  the  strong 
power  of  the  State,  represented  by  monarchs,  chancellors,  and 
armed  hosts,  had  not  dulled  his  appreciation  of  the  value  of 
ideas  as  the  ultimately  dominant  force  in  the  political  world. 
He  understood  the  meaning  of  the  progress  of  Socialism  in 
Germany.  Twenty  years  ago,  when  many  were  still  of  opinion 
that  it  was  a  surface    movement    of  a    transitory    character 

p  225 


GERMAN    MEMORIES 

which  a  young  Sovereign  in  a  hurry  might  be  safely  left 
to  deal  with  and  conciliate,  Socialism  caused  Rottenburg,  in 
conjunction  with  the  growing  political  power  of  the  Roman 
Catholic  Centre  party,  grave  concern  for  the  future  of  Ger- 
many. Hard  work  had  evidently  had  its  effect  on  his  nervous 
system,  for,  in  spite  of  his  robust,  even  martial  appearance, 
which  many  others  also  acquired  by  continual  association 
with  Bismarck,  he  died  before  his  time,  and  thus  may  well 
be  enrolled  among  those  assistants  of  the  Prince  whose 
vitality  was  used  up  in  the  employ  of  the  giant,  and  who 
sacrificed  their  lives  in  the  service  of  their  country  in  the  same 
way  as  those  who  had  fallen  in  the  fight  on  the  battlefield, 
true  to  Bismarck"'s  own  motto  :   "  Serviendo  consnmor.'''' 

Rottenburg  had  been  on  good  terms  with  the  Bismarck 
household  for  many  years  and  was  often  present  when,  in 
the  evening,  the  Chancellor  received  friends  in  his  uncere- 
monious homely  fashion.  Among  the  stories  he  told  me  was 
one  of  a  good-looking,  clean-shaven  personage  who  was  among 
the  guests  on  a  certain  occasion.  He  apparently  did  not  speak 
German,  and  his  French  had  a  peculiar  accent.  Some  of  those 
present,  in  rollicking  spirit,  were  half  inclined  to  make  fun  of 
him  ;  when,  in  the  course  of  conversation,  the  stranger,  to  their 
great  surprise,  blurted  out  the  words  :  "  Quand  fttais  Ministre 
des  Affaires  Etrangeres ! "  They  pricked  up  their  ears  at 
this,  and,  wondering  who  it  could  be,  quickly  drew  in  their 
horns  when  they  learnt  that  it  was  no  other  than  Lord 
Rosebery  ! 

It  was  impossible  to  have  any  dealings  with  the  Wilhelm- 
strasse  without  hearing  stories  of  the  occult  influence  of  Herr 
von  Holstein,  the  mysterious  Privy  Councillor  who  turned 
against  Count  Harry  Arnim  forty  years  ago,  an  action  which 
ultimately  led  to  the  latter"'s  conviction  and  condemnation  as  a 
common  malefactor.  Few  had  ever  seen  this  elusive  personage  ; 
even  his  Sovereign  was  said  to  have  scarcely  ever  set  eyes  on 
him.  In  private  life  he  visited  only  one  family,  and  that  one 
was  of  little  consequence.  Yet  he  was  supposed  to  move 
ambassadors,  ministers,  and  minor  officials  about  at  his  will ; 
226 


THE    WILHELMSTRASSE 

even  to  have  had  a  hand  in  the  fall  of  Bismarck,  Caprivi, 
and  Hohenlohe.  He  was  apparently  content  to  wield  real 
power  in  the  dark,  unknown  to  the  public,  recognition  and 
applause  from  whom,  like  other  strong  men,  he  disdained. 
And  yet,  strange  to  say,  he  was  childishly  nervous  about 
his  name  appearing  in  the  papers,  in  which,  as  a  fact,  it  was 
rarely  to  be  seen  until  within  a  few  weeks  of  his  retirement. 

Even  allowing  for  Herr  von  Holstein's  distinguished  record  of 
services,  it  would  still  seem  at  first  sight  to  be  a  natural  query 
how  a  man  without  direct  Ministerial  responsibility,  and  living 
under  such  retiring  conditions,  could  have  possessed  the  influence 
he  was  accredited  with.  Indeed,  it  can  only  be  explained  by 
taking  into  account  the  atmosphere  of  distrust  and  intrigue 
which  has  been  so  often  connected  with  higher  Prussian  political, 
and  more  particularly  diplomatic,  appointments.  It  would  be 
inconceivable  under  conditions  of  a  bo7id  Jide  Representative 
Government  where  a  Ministerial  Cabinet,  as  is  the  case  in 
England,  is  loyally  solidaric,  and  thus,  as  a  rule,  proof  against 
irresponsible  outside  influence.  This  solidarity  has  never  existed 
in  Prussia.  Hence  the  constant  fear  of  intrigue  and  those 
compromising  indiscretions  in  high  places  of  which  Prince 
Hohenlohe's  Reminiscences  were  a  crowning  instance.  Witness 
his  pitiful  complaints  of  the  precarious  nature  of  his  own  posi- 
tion. In  this  volume  Herr  von  Holstein  is  also  repeatedly 
mentioned.  Under  such  conditions  there  would  inevitably  be 
many  opportunities  for  influencing  appointments  and  even  the 
trend  of  affkirs  of  the  State  open  to  a  man  of  the  abilities  and 
intriguing  disposition  of  Herr  von  Holstein.  He  had  served 
on  the  diplomatic  staff  in  St.  Petersburg,  Washington,  Paris 
and  elsewhere.  It  was  believed  by  many  that  when  he  was 
ultimately  transferred  to  the  Foreign  Office  he  was  in  the 
habit  of  inviting  and  receiving  confidential  reports  from  members 
of  the  different  embassies  behind  the  backs  of  the  respective 
ambassadors — a  system  of  espionnage  which  made  the  position 
of  these  dignitaries  anything  but  a  bed  of  roses,  and  tends  to 
explain  certain  incidents  in  German  diplomacy  o1  recent  times. 
The  control  of  this  network  of  secret  information,  added  to 

227 


GERMAN    MEMORIES 

his  position  as  Chief  of  the  PoHtical  Department  of  the 
Foreign  Office,  with  the  privilege  of  immediate  perusal  of  all 
ambassadorial  reports,  endowed  Herr  von  Holstein  with  great 
potentialities  for  maV'iig  his  influence  felt.  Besides,  a  Minister 
of  Foreign  Affairs  could  scarcely  fail  to  attach  great  importance 
to  the  opinion  of  one  with  Holstein's  long  official  experience 
under  Bismarck.  Thus  it  is  not  surprising  to  hear  that, 
while  certain  ambassadors  felt  themselves  secure  in  his 
good  graces,  others  were  in  constant  fear  of  incurring  his 
enmity. 

It  was  whispered  that  at  last  he  had  met  his  match  in  Prince 
Billow ;  but,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  Holstein  was  got  rid  of  by  a 
stratagem  during  the  time  Prince  Billow  was  laid  up  after  his 
attack  of  illness  in  the  Reichstag,  in  April  1906. 

I  instinctively  shrank  from  intruding  upon  such  a  man,  and 
when  I  met  him  in  the  flesh  it  was  due  to  Count  Seckendorff, 
who  told  me  that  Herr  von  Holstein  had  read  several  of  my 
contributions  to  the  New  York  Herald  during  the  Algeciras 
Conference,  and  would  like  to  make  my  acquaintance  if  I  cared 
to  call  upon  him. 

I  accordingly  did  call  one  morning,  and  met  with  a  very 
friendly  reception.  Assuming  that  I  was  familiar  with  the 
political  history  of  Europe  during  the  last  twenty  years,  he 
entered  into  a  broad  discussion  of  the  relations  between  England 
and  Germany,  the  unsatisfactory  nature  of  which  he,  in 
common  with  every  distinguished  German  I  have  ever  met, 
deeply  deplored.  More  particularly  had  the  persistent 
Germanophobe  attitude  of  the  Times  pre-occupied  him.  He 
asked  me  if  I  believed  that  the  Times  was  bent  on  war  with 
Germany,  and  if  I  could  explain  the  attitude  of  that  paper. 
He  declared  that  he  could  find  nothing  in  the  aims  of  Germany 
to  justify  it.  Here,  I  may  mention  in  parenthesis  that,  as  far 
as  I  have  been  able  to  judge,  German  statesmen  pay  more  atten- 
tion to  newspaper  opinion,  inland  and  foreign,  than  either  their 
French  or  English  colleagues.  Herr  von  Holstein  said  he  had 
been  on  good  terms  with  Sir  V.  Chirol,  when  he  represented  the 
Times  in  Berlin,  and  had  taken  a  liking  to  him  as  a  well-informed 
228 


THE    WII.HEI.  MSTRASSE 

sympathetic  personage,  who,  however,  had  told  him  that  he 
did  not  feel  comfortable  in  Berlin  and  wanted  to  be  out  of  it. 
This  Holstein  could  not  understand,  since,  as  far  as  he  knew, 
the  correspondents  of  English  papers  met  with  a  far  more 
cordial  treatment  in  political  and  social  circles  in  Berlin  than 
did  German  correspondents  in  London.  In  the  course  of  our 
conversation  Herr  von  Holstein  touched  upon  Morocco  and 
the  Algeciras  Conference,  and  strengthened  the  impression, 
which  I  had  already  gained  from  other  sources,  that  he  had 
been  in  favour  of  a  more  forward  policy,  in  the  belief  that,  if 
such  had  been  pursued,  France  would  ultimately  have  given 
way. 

Before  we  parted  he  gave  me  a  piece  of  exclusive  news, 
which  I  telegraphed  the  same  day  to  the  Herald.  It  turned 
out  to  be  inaccurate,  but  I  am  sure  he  gave  it  to  me  in  good 
faith,  with  the  honest  motive  of  doing  me  a  good  turn  as  the 
representative  of  that  journal,  for  he  read  the  substance  of  it 
in  my  presence  from  a  telegram  which  had  just  come  to  hand 
from  the  German  representative  in  Egypt. 

The  impression  I  gained  from  my  first  interview  with  him 
and  several  subsequent  visits  which  he  encouraged  me  to  pay 
him  was  that  his  views,  at  least  as  regards  English  affairs, 
were  based  on  a  conception  of  things  as  they  were  thirty  years 
ago,  and  did  not  apply  to  the  political  situation  of  the 
present  day. 

My  relations  with  Herr  von  Holstein,  much  to  my  regret, 
came  to  an  abrupt  termination  ;  for  when  the  long-standing 
rumours  of  his  retirement  into  private  life  were  officially 
confirmed  I  se\\t  a  telegram  to  the  Herald,  as  in  duty  bound, 
reproducing  what  I  had  heard  on  good  authority  as  to  the 
nature  of  his  far-reaching  influence,  whilst  at  the  same  time 
I  gave  due  publicity  to  his  great  services,  his  strong  character, 
and  solid  attainments.  The  passage  relating  to  his  occult 
influence  gave  him  great  offence,  for  he  wrote  me  a  rude  letter, 
accusing  me  of  ignorance  and  malevolence,  which  only  supplied 
me  with  confirmatory  evidence  of  the  extraordinary  sensitiveness 
of  German  politicians  to  Press  comment. 

229 


G  E  R  INI  AN     MEMORIES 

Herr  von  Holsteiii  was  said  to  be  more  or  less  the  victim  of 
persecution  mania,  the  result,  I  should  say,  of  his  peculiarly 
lonely  life  and  his  constant  brooding  over  political  problems 
amidst  a  sea  of  intrigue  :  a  form  of  mental  affliction  which 
was  peculiar  to  Foreign  Office  officials  in  his  time,  living  as 
they  did  in  an  atmosphere  of  mutual  distrust  and  suspicion. 
In  moments  of  irritation  the  old  man  would  get  excited,  and 
mutter  his  determination  to  drag  his  enemies,  mostly  imaginary 
ones,  before  the  muzzle  of  a  pistol ! 

That  a  man  in  such  a  responsible  position,  who  down  to  the 
last  constantly  emphasised  his  cordial  relations  with  his  official 
chief,  and  who  on  his  retirement  was  awarded  a  signal  mark  of 
the  favour  of  his  Sovereign  (the  Grand  Cross  of  the  Red 
Eagle  with  brilliants),  should  no  sooner  have  left  office  than  he 
joined  hands  with  one  of  the  most  relentless  journalistic  critics 
of  both,  shows  the  high  estimate  he  had  formed  of  the  power 
of  the  journalistic  pen,  but  did  not  throw  a  very  favourable 
light  on  those  traditions  of  loyalty  to  the  Sovereign  and  to 
their  own  profession  which  have  hitherto  been  the  justified 
boast  of  Prussian  bureaucrats. 

The  following  peculiar  incident,  indicative  of  the  subterra- 
nean working  of  intrigue  in  high  places,  came  to  my  knowledge 
liome  time  afterwards  from  an  absolutely  reliable  source. 
According  to  this  story  Herr  von  Holstein  already  nursed  the 
idea  of  Bismarck's  compulsory  retirement  from  office  during 
the  lifetime  of  the  Emperor  William  I.,  namely,  in  the  winter 
of  1887-8. 

A  gentleman  in  a  high  position,  and  known  to  be  on  excellent 
terms  with  the  old  Emperor,  happening  to  be  on  a  visit  in 
Berlin,  was  quite  unexpectedly  asked  to  lunch  at  Borchardfs 
restaurant  by  Herr  von  Holstein.  This  in  itself  was  an 
extraordinary  occurrence,  inasmuch  as  it  was  common  know- 
ledge that  Herr  von  Holstein  led  a  solitary  life  and  had  hardly 
ever  been  known  to  ask  guests  to  his  table.  In  the  course 
of  the  lunch  he  spoke  deliberately  of  Prince  Bismarck  having 
become  too  old  for  the  heavy  responsibilities  of  his  office, 
that  he  was  losing  his  memory  and  mixed  up  everything 
230 


THE    WILHELMSTRASSE 

("  er  emhrouiUirte  Alles "),  and  that  it  was  time  for  the  good 
of  the  Empire  that  he  should  be  removed  from  power.  The 
gentleman  to  whom  he  made  these  confidences,  though  much 
astonished,  did  not  attach  direct  importance  to  them  at  the 
time.  It  was  only  afterwards,  when  Prince  Bismarck  had  been 
dismissed,  that  he  realised  their  full  portent. 

It  is  well  known  that  Prince  Bismarck  harboured  a  feeling 
of  resentment  towards  Holstein  down  to  the  day  of  his  death, 
a  sentiment  which  the  above  incident  of  itself  might  tend 
to  explain.  The  only  reference  to  Herr  von  Holstein  that 
I  recall  as  emanating  from  the  Bismarck  family  was  a  remark 
which  Count  Herbert  made  to  me  on  several  occasions — 
that  Herr  von  Holstein,  despite  his  intellectual  acuteness, 
did  not  possess  the  faculty  of  clear  thinking  and  straight 
dealing,  and  consequently  rarely  succeeded  in  carrying  matters 
to  a  satisfactory  conclusion. 

So  much  has  been  written  in  unfair  depreciation  of  the 
officials  of  the  Wilhelmstrasse  that  it  is  no  more  than  a 
feeling  of  bare  justice  which  impels  me  to  say  a  few  words 
in  defence  of  those  who  are  rarely  in  a  position  to  defend 
themselves. 

I  have  had  the  privilege  of  meeting  Herr  von  Kiderlen- 
Waechter  only  once — at  Prince  Billow's  table ;  but  if  any- 
thing could  have  inspired  a  feeling  of  sympathy  for  him  it 
was  the  spirited  manner  in  which  he  recently  defended  the 
officials  of  the  Wilhelmstrasse  against  attacks  levelled  against 
them  in  the  Reichstag  ;  proving  that  in  his  person  at  least 
loyalty  to  colleagues  and  subordinates  is  not  a  dead  tradition. 
In  this  instance  it  was  loyalty  to  men,  many  of  whom  sacrifice 
health  and  grow  prematurely  old  in  the  poorly  requited  service 
of  their  country. 

From  the  journalistic  point  of  view  I  can  speak  with  some 
experience  when  I  say  that  in  no  Government  offices  in  any 
other  country  I  am  acquainted  with  do  foreign  journalist's 
meet  with  the  courtesy  which  I  have  invariably  seen  them 
receive  in  the  Wilhelmstrasse,  from  the  sturdy  hall-porter 
with   the  Iron  Cross  of   18T0  on  his  breast,  throughout  the 

231 


GERMAN    MEMORIES 

different  grades  of  ^''  decements'"  and  Privy  Councillors  up  to 
the  august  "Excellency"  himself:  and  this  whether  the 
visitor  represents  a  journal  friendly  or  otherwise  to  German 
interests.  In  the  same  spirit  of  impartiality  every  properly 
accredited  foreign  journalist  has  his  reserved  seat  in  the  Press 
gallery  of  the  Reichstag — a  privilege  which,  as  far  as  my 
knowledge  goes,  is  not  extended  to  any  foreign  journalist  in 
the  House  of  Commons. 

I  am  not  in  a  position  to  offer  an  opinion  on  the  qualifica- 
tions of  the  rank  and  file  employed  in  the  Government  offices 
of  the  Wilhelmstrasse  ;  but  I  can  say  this  much,  that  I  have 
often  been   surprised  at  the   intellectual  attainments  of  those 
gentlemen  with   whom   from   time  to  time  I  have  come  into 
contact.     Some  of  them  have  come  from  modest  conditions  in 
out-of-the-way    provinces,    yet,    thanks    to    the    opportunities 
offered   to   the    energetic    by    the   unrivalled    Prussian    schools 
existing  throughout  the  country,  even  in  the  remote  townlets 
on  the  Prussian  frontier,  they  have  risen  to  the  honoured  grade 
of  Geheimrath  in  the  Foreign  Office  or  in   the  Ministry  of  the 
Interior :     this    is    a    rise     almost    impossible     in    oligarchic 
England,    in    spite  of    such  an   exceptional  career  as  that  of 
Mr.    John    Burns.      A   stroll   tlirough    the  long   corridors    of 
these  buildings,  with  their  endless  rows  of  bookcases,  contain- 
ing   every    imaginary     publication     dealing    with     historical, 
political    and   economic  matter ;    noting   the   scrupulous    care, 
the   tidiness,    the   systematic  order  which   prevails   everywhere 
— this  alone  would  be  sufficient  to  force  the  conviction  upon 
the  visitor  that  only  a  high  type  of  official  could  supervise  and 
deal  efficiently  with  this  vast  m.ass  of  material.      A  number  of 
specially    trained     men    form    part   of    the    Ministerial    and 
Imperial  central  offices.      Some  of  them  have   passed  the   stiff 
examinations    of    doctor    juris   and    possess    high    academical 
attainments.      The  work  of  these  officials  is  often  of  a  kind 
which  could  only  be  done  efficiently  by  first-rate  men.      They 
have  to  draw  up  complicated  reports  and  elaborate  them,  and 
thus  to  relieve   the    Vortragende  Raethe   (those    privileged  to 
report  directly  to  the  Minister  of  State)  of  some  of  their  more 
232 


THE    WILHELMSTRASSE 

arduous  labours.  They  must  be  authorities  on  legislation  and 
on  history,  and  be  familiar  with  political  economy  and  the 
current  literature  on  these  subjects.  Others,  besides  their 
regular  routine  work,  undertake  the  editorship  of  varioas  official 
publications.  One  gentleman  I  am  acquainted  with  is  not 
only  expected  to  be  an  expert  in  such  work,  but  also  to  be 
able  to  supply  translations  from  eight  different  languages. 
Thus  it  will  be  readily  believed  that  there  are  no  sinecures  in 
the  Wilhelmstrasse. 

The  gathering,  perusing,  and  classifying  of  the  Press  of  the 
whole  world  is  another  special  work  of  these  officials  which, 
as  far  as  I  can  judge,  is  nowhere  carried  out  so  exhaustively  as 
here.  There  is  no  such  thing  as  ignoring  a  section  of  public 
opinion  because  it  may  happen  to  be  directed  against  the 
Government  ;  everything  is  grist  that  comes  to  this  huge 
intellectual  mill.  Thus,  whereas  the  Sunday  newspapers  of 
the  English  working  classes  are  not  taken  in  at  any  of  the 
West-end  clubs  in  London,  much  less  read  in  our  aristocratic 
Government  offices,  the  fiery  diatribes  of  the  great  Socialistic 
organ,  the  Vorwdrts^  are  carefully  read  and  noted  down  in  the 
Wilhelmstrasse,  together  with  the  last  leading  article  of  the 
London  Times.  The  prevailing  currents  of  public  opinion  are 
here  subjected  to  the  most  searching  analysis  by  men  who,  in 
addition  to  their  other  qualifications,  often  possess  a  thorough 
knowledge  of  several  foreign  languages.  Nowhere  has  the 
growth  of  Socialism  throughout  the  world — in  Asia  as  far  as 
the  mountain  fastnesses  of  the  Caucasus  (Tiflis) — been  more 
carefully  followed  than  among  the  studious  rank  and  file  of 
the  Wilhelmstrasse.  Nowhere  are  to  be  found  more  cool-headed 
critics  of  the  powers  that  be,  and  more  fervent  well-wishers  for 
a  better  time  to  come  for  workers,  whether  by  means  of 
individual  Liberalism  or  collective  Socialism,  than  among  these 
honourable  and  highly  cultured  men,  of  whom  I  am  proud 
to  number  a  few  as  my  friends. 


233 


CHAPTER    XX 

SOME  SOCIALIST  LEADERS 

It  may  tend  to  illustrate  the  sharp  cleavage  of  social  life 
in  Germany,  at  least  as  far  as  the  Socialists  are  concerned, 
when  I  say  that  I  had  mixed  with  Germans  of  nearly 
every  class  for  over  twenty  years,  and  yet  do  not  remember 
to  have  met  a  single  Socialist.  On  one  occasion  in  the 
eighties  a  working  man  lectured  on  Socialism  at  Arnstadt 
(Thuringia),  and  was  looked  upon  by  the  friend  with  whom  I 
was  staying,  a  wealthy  manufacturer,  and  others  I  came 
into  contact  with,  as  next  door  to  a  criminal.  An  Englishman 
living  in  Dresden  about  the  same  time,  a  teacher  of  the 
English  language,  was  the  first  person  to  draw  my  attention  to 
the  reality  of  the  Socialist  Party.  He  was  indignant  at  what 
he  termed  the  brutal  treatment  meted  out  to  Socialists  for 
what,  in  the  eyes  of  Englishmen,  was  merely  the  exercise  of 
the  right  inherent  in  every  citizen  of  free  thought  and  free 
speech.  Thus,  when  I  was  in  Berlin  in  the  winter  of  1890—1, 
and  the  late  Mr.  Bashford,  the  Berlin  correspondent  of  the 
Daily  Telegraph,  volunteered  to  give  me  a  letter  of  introduc- 
tion to  the  great  Socialist  leader,  Herr  Bebel,  I  gladly  availed 
myself  of  the  opportunity,  and  called  one  morning  on  him 
at  his  dwelling  in  one  of  the  suburbs  of  Berlin,  where  he 
lived  in  a  small  flat  under  conditions  such  as  one  might  expect 
to  find  among  the  working  classes.  He  received  me  with  scant 
courtesy  in  the  presence  of  an  elderly  lady,  whose  relationship 
he  did  not  disclose,  but  who  I  presume  was  his  wife.  That 
she  was  there  at  all  was,  I  daresay,  due  to  BebeFs  wish  to 
have  a  witness  at  hand  when  receiving  a  person  unknown  to 
him  ;  for  under  existing  circumstances  at  that  time  it  would 
234 


SOME    SOCIALIST    LEADERS 

have  been  natural  for  him  to  have  harboured  some  suspicion 
towards  any  stranger.  This  feeling  on  his  part  might  well 
have  been  augmented  by  my  awkwardness,  for  in  those  days  I 
had  little  or  no  experience  in  meeting  political  personages. 
Consequently  I  hardly  knew  what  to  say  to  the  Socialist 
leader.  I  had  a  feeling  of  embarrassment  which  strikes  me  as 
absurd  to  day,  that  whereas  I  was  in  the  presence  of  the 
foremost  leader  of  the  greatest  political  movement  of  the  age, 
I  felt  I  was  addressing  a  man  who  was  almost  an  outlaw. 
It  was  only  some  years  after  that  that  it  gradually  dawned  on 
me  that  Socialism  was  a  Weltanschauung  like  any  other,  and 
as  such  a  product  of  the  times,  and  that,  like  all  great 
intellectual  movements  born  of  the  spirit  of  an  age,  it  must 
ultimately  contribute  to  the  progress  of  the  world. 

Thus,  instead  of  utilising  the  rare  opportunity  afforded  me 
of  having  an  interesting  and  profitable  conversation,  I  only 
remember  having  asked  Bebel  one  question,  viz.,  how  it  came 
about  that  his  party  should  be  continually  upholding  the 
conditions  of  the  English  working  classes  as  being  so  much 
superior  to  those  in  Germany.  I  had  observed  in  the  course  of 
a  wide  intimacy  with  the  German  working  classes  that  their 
possibilities  of  education  were  superior  to  those  in  England, 
as  were  also  those  of  the  small  man  becoming  a  freeholder ; 
that  English  indirect  taxation,  although  in  theory  freeing  the 
working  man  from  contributing  to  the  maintenance  of  the 
State  by  the  heavy  duty  put  on  tobacco  and  alcohol,  made 
him  in  practice  a  greater  taxpayer  than  any  other  member  of 
the  community  ;  lastly,  that  the  Germans  possessed  universal 
suffrage,  which  did  not  exist  in  England.  Bebel  replied  that 
it  was  not  the  Socialists  but  the  German  Liberals  who  were 
always  extolling  English  conditions,  and  that  the  Socialists 
were  well  aware  of  the  inferior  status  in  certain  respects  of  the 
English  working  classes.  The  bane  of  the  German  conditions, 
he  contended,  consisted  mainly  in  the  lack  of  political  freedom 
of  the  German  masses,  in  spite  of  universal  suffrage.  Bebel 
made  the  impression  on  me  of  a  man  of  remarkable  energy 
and   determination   of  character — more   a   man  of  action,    1 

235 

/ 


GERMAN    MEMORIES 

should  have  said,  than  a  profound  thinker ;  one  who,  under 
the  exciting  influence  of  enthusiasm,  might  be  nerved  up  to 
anything,  as  indeed  his  record  shows  him  to  have  been.  To 
endeavour  to  intimidate  such  a  man  by  coercion  seemed  to  me 
even  then  as  a  hopeless  course.  Bebel  reminded  me  somewhat, 
by  liis  manner  and  cast  of  features,  of  a  type  I  was  familiar 
with  in  Saxony,  where  the  mass  of  the  people  are  largely  of 
Slavonic  stock,  having  something  also  of  the  Celt,  with  some 
affinity  to  the  type  of  Keir  Hardie.  Altogether  I  had  little 
conception  of  the  greatness  of  one  whose  career  has  revealed 
the  born  leader  of  men,  gifted  with  extraordinary  political 
acumen,  sagacity,  and  insight,  doubly  rare  in  unpolitical 
Germany ;  one  whose  political  agitation  has  already  been  the 
means  of  bettering  the  lot  of  the  German  working  man  and 
the  common  soldiers  and  raising  the  position  of  the  German 
woman.  Bebel  from  the  very  beginning  condemned  the 
KuUurkampf,  and  foretold  in  1872  that  it  would  result 
in  doubling  the  number  of  Ultramontane  seats  in  the  Reich- 
stag and  would  finally  contribute  to  Bismarck's  fall.  The 
fulfilment  of  the  former  prophecy  is  a  matter  of  history.  Of 
late  years  Bebel's  principal  task  has  been  to  reconcile  the 
differences  which  have  arisen  within  the  ranks  of  the  Socialists 
themselves,  and  to  thwart  the  endeavours  of  their  enemies  to 
saddle  the  party  with  an ti- patriotic  aims.  In  this  he  has 
shown  exceptional  sagacity  and  astuteness.  The  task  of 
making  propaganda  for  his  party  has  become  a  negligible  one, 
inasmuch  as  its  opponents  have  done  this  work  for  it.  By 
one  of  those  extraordinary  strokes  of  luck  which  now  and  then 
fall  to  the  lot  of  young  Ideas — as  they  do,  according  to 
Napoleon,  to  young  men — the  Socialists  have  found  a  powerful 
auxiliary  in  the  German  Emperor,  some  of  whose  speeches, 
according  to  Bebel  himself,  have  brought  the  Socialists  a 
hundred  thousand  proselytes ! 

There  are  personages  high  up  in  public  life  who  reflect  the 
surface  ephemera  of  their  day,  and,  as  such,  appeal  to  the 
crowd — the  flotsam  and  jetsam — ever  living  exemplification  of 
Populus  viilt  decipi ;  decipiatur.  Their  career  is  one  long 
236 


SOME    SOCIALIST    LEADERS 

holiday — an  intoxicating  orgy  of  ecstasy,  a  delirium  of 
delight — with  a  possible  rude  awakening  at  its  close :  the 
memory  of  it  to  be  briefly  catalogued  hereafter  with  the 
chimera  of  a  period. 

There  are  others  who  stand  for  some  epoch-making 
movement,  fraught  with  vast  possibilities  for  human  weal  or 
woe.  They  only  olitain  recognition  and  acceptance  gradually  ; 
their  lives  being  one  long  uphill  fight  of  toil  and  trouble. 
Rarely  do  they  live  to  witness  the  outcome  of  their  labours, 
though  now  and  then  they  may  reckon  on  a  certain  meed  of 
posthumous  fame.  Some  few  may  verify  in  themselves 
Goethe's  proud  prediction  : 

"  Es  kann  die  Spur  von  meinen  Erdetagen 
Nicht  in  Aeonen  untergehen,"  ^ 

Such  are  the  great  thinkers,  the  makers  of  nations,  the 
regenerators  of  society,  who  mark  the  milestones  of  progression 
along  the  thorny  ascent  of  mankind.  Many  Socialists  believe 
that  the  Leipsic  master-joiner,  August  Bebel,^  will  hereafter 
be  adjudged  one  of  these. 

On  Bebel's  seventieth  birthday  his  seat  in  the  Reichstag 
was  decorated  by  floral  tributes,  contributed,  I  was  told,  by 
members  of  all  political  parties — a  ray  of  human  sunlight  in 
an  otherwise  dark  picture  of  party  passion. 

I  made  Paul  Singer's  acquaintance  in  the  Reichstag  on  the 
day  Prince  Blilow  was  suddenly  taken  ill,  in  April  1906.  A 
colleague  introduced  me  to  him  in  the  vestibule.  Singer's 
appearance  was  that  of  a  portly,  well-to-do  man,  with  very 
little  about  him  to  lead  one  to  suppose  that  he  was  a  great 
party  leader  who  enjoyed  wide  popularity.  In  the  course  of 
conversation,  carried  on  while  walking  up  and  down,  we  passed 
two  easels,  placed  side  by  side,  on  each  of  which  rested  a 
photogravure  in  a  cheap  oak  frame.  One  of  them,  a 
coloured  print,   such   as    appears  in   any   Christmas   Number, 

^  "  The  trace  of  my  days  on  earth  shall  not  vanish  in  aeons  of  time." 
2  A  German  poet  of  the  name  Bebel,  the  son  of  a  poor  peasant,  lived  in  the 
fifteenth  century.     He  studied  at  the  Universities  of  Cracow  and  Basel  and 
was  crowned  poet-laureate  by  the  Emperor  Maximilian  in  1501. 

237 


GERMAN    MEMORIES 

was  the  bust-portrait  of  the  Emperor  and  Empress  to  be  seen 
in  every  Berlin  shop-window.  It  was  published  in  honour  of 
their  recently  celebrated  silver  wedding,  an  event  which,  like 
every  other  affecting  the  Imperial  family,  was  passed  over  in 
silence  by  the  chief  Socialist  organ,  the  Vorwdrts  !  The  other 
was  a  conventional  monochrome  figure-group  of  the  Imperial 
family  (also  familiar  in  shop-windows),  with  a  dog  in  the  fore- 
ground. These,  then,  were  the  two  costly  "  works  of  art ""  which 
the  Emperor  had  been  bestowing  on  exalted  personages,  and  of 
which  glowing  descriptions  had  appeared  in  the  dutiful  organs 
of  the  Berlin  Press  !  They  had  apparently  been  specially  placed 
in  the  Reichstag  by  order  of  His  Majesty  for  the  admiration 
of  its  loyal  and  trusty  members,  inasmuch  as  they  both  bore 
the  bold  signature,  "  Wilhelm  I.R." 

When    Singer    recently   died    it    was    computed    that    over 
half  a  million  people  attended  the  funeral.      The  Berlin  police 
delegated  the  task   of  keeping  order  to  the   Socialists   them- 
selves, and  everything  went  oft*  smoothly.      To  convey  an  idea 
of  the  meaning  of  this   decision   on    the   part   of   the   Berlin 
authorities,  we  must  picture  to   ourselves    the    Ix)ndon    police 
resigning   their  functions  over  a  whole  district  of  London  into 
the    hands    of    the    English    democracy    on    the    occasion    of 
the  funeral  of  such  a  leader  as  Mr.  Keir  Hardie.      The  K'nlnische 
Zeitung,  commenting  on  the  vast  Socialistic  concourse  on   this 
occasion,  remarke<l :      "  That  which  is  behind  these  demonstra- 
tions cannot  be  shot  down  by  rifle  bullets.'"      Amid  a  sea  of 
slander,  one  item  of  reproach  levelled  against  Singer  was  that 
of  being  a  rich  man,  as  he  was  known   to  be  a  large  employer 
of    labour.      When    he   died    it    transpired    that    all    he    was 
possessed  of  was  ,^2000  ;  everything  else  he  had  given  away 
during  his  lifetime  ! 

In  the  spring  of  1909  I  had  occasion  to  exchange  letters 
with  Georg  von  Vollmar,  the  well-known  South  German 
Socialist  leader  and  member  of  the  Reichstag,  in  consequence 
of  which  I  paid  him  a  visit,  in  the  month  of  August,  at  his 
country  seat  at  Soiensass,  on  the  banks  of  the  Walchensee,  in 
the  Bavarian  Highlands.  I  started  from  Munich  in  the 
238 


SOME    SOCIALIST    LEADERS 

morning,  and  found  the  journey  to  be  one  of  the  most 
picturesque  sequences  of  idyllic  mountain  scenery  I  have  ever 
passed  through.  A  tall,  distinguished-looking  man,  with  a 
moustache  and  an  Imperial  beard,  such  as  they  wear  in  Bavaria, 
came  towards  us  leaning  on  a  stick  as  we  entered  the  veranda 
of  his  Schweizer-haus  villa  and  bade  me  and  my  son  a  kindly 
welcome. 

Herr  von  Vollmar's  ill-health  has  of  late  years  kept  him 
somewhat  in  the  background  of  political  life,  but  there  was  a 
time  in  which  his  influence  and  popularity  were  so  great  that 
he  was  termed  the  "  uncrowned  King  of  Bavaria."  Like  many 
other  Socialist  leaders  Herr  von  Vollmar  has  "  qualified  "  for 
his  commanding  position  by  undergoing  various  terms  of 
imprisonment.  His  record  is  an  exceptional  one  among 
Socialists,  inasumch  as  he  comes  of  a  noble  family  and  was 
educated  in  a  Benedictine  monastery.  He  served  in  the 
Bavarian  army  as  an  officer  in  the  war  of  1866  against  Prussia, 
when  he  was  only  eighteen  years  of  age.  Subsequently  he 
passed  a  year  as  a  volunteer  in  the  Papal  army  in  Rome.  At 
the  outbreak  of  the  war  of  1870  he  again  entered  the  Bavarian 
army,  this  time  in  the  telegraph  service,  and,  though  a  non- 
combatant,  Avas  so  severely  wounded  at  Blois  that  he  was 
permanently  invalided. 

The  conversation  I  had  with  this  eminent  man  made  a 
deep  impression  on  me,  besides  adding  materially  to  my  know- 
ledge of  the  conditions  of  the  Bavarian  peasantry.  Land 
tenure  was  a  subject  upon  which  he  is  an  authority,  since  it 
had  occupied  him  for  many  years  as  a  member  of  the  Bavarian 
Landtag.  I  had  no  idea  of  the  essentially  democratic  character 
of  the  Bavarian  laws,  customs  and  traditions  as  they  affect  the 
tenure  of  land.  For  instance,  the  so-called  Gross gTundbesitz, 
or  big  estates,  in  Bavaria  amount  to  only  one  and  a  half  per 
cent,  of  the  total  area  of  landed  property,  and  this  although 
property  of  five  hundred  acres  is  already  included  as  a  big 
estate.  All  this  was  a  revelation  to  me,  and  what  made  it 
impressive  was  its  being  conveyed  in  the  course  of  a  pleasant 
conversation  by  a  man  whose  whole  life,  bearing  and  appearance 

239 


GERMAN    MEMORIES 

bore  the  aristocratic  impress  of  fearless  courage,  veracity  and 
sincerity. 

We  passed  the  day  under  Ilerr  von  Volhnar's  hospitable  roof, 
and  were  privileged  to  make  the  acquaintance  of  PVau  von 
VoUmar,  a  Swedish  lady  of  great  charm,  and  obviously  with 
wide  intellectual  interests  and  sympathies. 

On  my  return  through  Munich  I  met  Professor  Lujo  Bren- 
tano,  who  told  me  a  story  in  connection  with  Herr  von  Vollmar 
which  had  been  related  to  him  some  years  previously,  illustra- 
tive of  the  different  position  of  Social  Democracy  in  the  South 
and  in  the  North  of  Germany. 

Prince  Ludwig,  the  heir  to  the  throne  of  Bavaria,  owns  a 
country  seat  on  the  banks  of  the  Lake  of  Constance.  The 
peasants  in  the  neighbourhood  wanted  to  draw  their  supply 
of  salt  for  their  cattle  from  the  works  of  Sfcassfurt,  in  the 
Prussian  province  of  Saxony,  and  applied  to  the  Bavarian 
Minister,  in  whose  department  this  matter  lay,  to  grant  them 
the  reduction  in  the  railway  freight  provided  for  the  transport 
of  agricultural  produce.  The  Minister  was  of  opinion  that 
the  peasants  might  just  as  well  draw  their  supply  from  a 
Bavarian  saline,  and  declined  to  accede  to  their  request. 
When  Prince  Ludwig  came  shortly  afterwards  to  the  Lake  of 
Constance  the  peasants  sent  a  deputation  to  him,  asking  if  he 
would  support  their  petition  and  intercede  on  their  behalf 
with  the  Minister  of  State.  The  Prince  did  so,  but  un- 
successfully. The  following  year,  when  he  again  visited  the 
Lake,  the  peasants  informed  him  that,  after  all,  they  had 
succeeded  in  obtaining  a  reduction  in  the  railway  charges. 
"  How  did  you  manage  it  ?  "  queried  the  Prince.  "  Well," 
they  answered,  "  we  applied  to  Herr  von  Vollmar,  and  he 
has  been  successful."  "  You  were  quite  right,  and  I  am  very 
glad  you  have  been  successful,"  is  said  to  have  been  the 
Prince's  answer. 

Professor  Brentano  continued  :  "  The  relations  towards  Social 
Democracy  of  all  classes  of  society,  even  including  those 
belonging  to  Government  circles,  are  quite  different  in  Bavaria 
and  throughout  South  Germany  to  what  they  are  in  Prussia. 
240 


SOME    SOCIALIST    LEADERS 

The  late  Minister  of  Finance,  Baron  von  Riedel,  once  told 
me  that  the  only  man  in  the  whole  Landtag  with  whom  it 
was  worth  while  discussing  a  subject  was  the  Deputy  Herr 
von  Vollmar.  In  Bavaria  there  is  none  of  that  social  ex- 
clusiveness  towards  Social  Democracy  which  prevails  in  the 
north.  People  mix  with  Socialists  when  they  are  gentlemen 
on  a  footing  of  perfect  equality,  in  the  same  way  as  they 
do  with  men  belonging  to  other  parties — a  thing  quite  un- 
known in  Berlin.  The  Socialists  are  invited  to  co-operate 
in  all  social  matters — as,  for  instance,  in  the  Association  for 
the  Improvement  of  Dwellings  ;  the  consequence  is  that  they 
do  good  work,  and  by  their  co-operation  render  valuable 
services  to  the  cause  of  progress.  By  this  means  a  great 
deal  of  the  uncharitableness  between  the  bourgeois  classes  in 
their  relationship  to  Socialists  is  obviated,  and  the  workmen 
of  Bavaria,  in  spite  of  their  Socialistic  leanings,  stand  in  human 
sympathy  and  relationship  to  the  Prince  Regent  and  his 
Heir  precisely  as  they  stand  to  those  belonging  to  all  other 
political  parties." 

Thus  Professor  Brentano,  one  of  the  most  distinguished  of 
German  living  political  economists  and  a  strong  champion  of 
free  trade. 


241 


CHAPTER  XXI 

SOME  MEMORIES  RECALLED 

As  will  be  evident  from  the  preceding  pages  my  various  voca- 
tions have  brought  me  from  time  to  time  into  personal  relations 
with  a  large  number  of  distinguished  Germans  m  different 
walks  in  life,  a  few  of  whom  I  briefly  refer  to  here 

In  the  late  Baron  Ernst  von  Mendelssohn-Bartholdy,  head  ot 
the  eminent  Berlin  banking  firm  of  that  name,   I  possessed  a 
kind  friend  at  whose  palatial  residence  in  the  Jaegerstrasse,  as 
also  at  his  beautiful  country  seat  at  Boernicke,  was  dispensed  a 
princely   hospitality.      I   met   a  number    of    notable    people 
under  his  roof:  the  Marquis  de  Noailles,  French  Ambassador; 
Count   von   der   Osten-Sacken,   Russian   Ambassador ;  Tewfik 
Pasha  Turkish  Ambassador;  the  widow  of  Professor  Helmholtz, 
and  other  personages.      To  meet  and  converse  with   a   man 
like    the    Marquis    de   Noailles    was    to   have   brought   home 
to    one   the   serious  loss  it  is  to  Continental  civilisation  that 
the  sturdy  Teuton  has  been  so  long  cut  off  from  contact  with 
all  that  is  cultured  and  best  in  French  society  ;-the  product 
of  o-enerations  of   distinction,  physical    as  well  as  mental    on 
both  s  des  :  what  Bismarck  used  to  term  the  "  Nursery,    which 
he  admired  as  the  hall-mark  of  English,  French  and  Russian 
^lohlesse  oblige,  the  well-balanced  breeding  which,  on  a  basis  ot 
Uenveillance,  finds  its  'embodiment  in  the  term   Sophrosyne- 
„ne   of  the    things    which    intellectual    education    on    black 
bread  fails  to  produce.     Scarcely  less  interesting  than  his  dis- 
tinguished   visitors    was    the    Herr    Geheimrath   himself,  for, 
be^des  other  claims  to  recognition,  Herr  von  Mendelssohn  was 
a  privy  councillor   and   a  member  of  the  Prussian   House  of 
Lords.     Above  all,  he  was  a  man  of  wide  literary  culture  and 
242 


SOME    MEMORIES    RECALLED 

refinement.  Sometimes  he  would  ask  me  to  stay  in  the  even- 
ing when  the  other  guests  had  departed  and  adjourn  to  his 
study,  where  he  would  chat  about  things  which  absorbed  him,  but 
which  might  have  possessed  less  interest  for  the  grand  mondc.  He 
took  pleasure  in  showing  me  his  literary  treasures,  among  which 
was  the  original  manuscript  of  Lessing's  Nathan  dcr  Weis'e, 
entirely  written  in  the  great  author's  dainty  hand-writing. 
Lessing  was  a  contemporary  and  friend  of  the  baron's  own 
distinguished  ancestor,  the  philosopher  Moses  Mendelssohn. 
The  loss  of  his  excellent  wife — a  tactful  and  charming  hostess — 
was  a  great  blow,  from  which  I  fear  he  never  recovered.  The 
truest  and  best  valedictory  testimony  which  I  can  bear  to  the 
memory  of  this  cultured  and  amiable  man  is  that  I  never 
remember  to  have  heard  an  unkind  or  ungenerous  word  issue 
from  his  lips,  although  his  cast  of  mind  was  of  an  uncompro- 
mising, eclectic  kind. 

I  met  the  late  Count  Hatzfeldt,  German  Ambassador  in 
London,  in  the  autumn  of  1894,  at  dinner  at  Lord  Rosebery's, 
King  Edward,  then  Prince  of  Wales,  being  present.  In 
the  course  of  conversation  the  Count  related  to  me  an  incident 
a  propos  of  Prince  Bismarck.  In  the  war  of  1870  Count 
Hatzfeldt  was  on  the  staff  of  Bismarck's  bureau  officials.  One 
day  Bismarck  received  a  letter  from  his  wife,  in  which  she 
energetically  ui'ged  him  to  exterminate  the  French  with  fire  and 
sword.  He  turned  to  Count  Hatzfeldt  and  said  :  "  My  wife  will 
yet  bring  me  to  such  a  pass  that  I  shall  really  do  the  French 
a  good  turn  ! " 

One  of  my  last  meetings  with  Count  Herbert  Bismarck  was 
also  at  Lord  Rosebery's  house,  in  the  month  of  May  1899, 
at  a  luncheon  party.  Mr.  Cecil  Rhodes  was  present,  and  he  and 
Count  Bismarck  were  the  life  and  soul  of  the  gathering.  Re- 
ferring to  the  supposed  anti-English  tendencies  of  his  father, 
Count  Bismarck  said  that  Sir  William  Vernon  Harcourt  had 
frankly  confessed  to  him  that  Germany  had  had  it  in  her  power 
to  "upset  the  English  apple-cart"  in  Egypt,  but  Prince 
Bismarck  had  done  all  in  his  power  to  smooth  matters  for 
England. 

243 


GERMAN    MEMORIES 

Of  other  German  diplomatists  I  have  met  ahroad  I  recall 
Freiherr  Marschail  von  Bieberstein,  until  recently  German 
Ambassador  at  Constantinople,  where  he  dispensed  extensive 
hospitality ;  evidently  believing  that  good  dinners  make  good 
diplomacy.  Like  most  Germans  of  his  up-bringing,  he  is  a  very 
well-informed  man,  a  hard  worker,  a  musician  who  plays  the 
piano  with  taste,  and  a  good  English  scholar,  his  favourite 
reading  being  novels  by  the  British  authors  in  the  Tauchnitz 
Edition.  Adroit,  without,  I  should  say,  possessing  that  finely 
adjusted  balance  of  the  nervous  system  which  marks  the  born 
diplomatist,  he  has  yet  been  a  success  in  his  ambassadorship 
at  Constantinople,  which  was  his  first  diplomatic  post.  For 
he  started  life  as  a  lawyer,  and  for  a  time  held  the  post  of 
Staatsamcalt,  or  State  attorney.  A  South  German,  endowed 
to  the  full  with  the  shrewdness  commonly  attributed  to  that 
race,  together  with  something  of  the  hail-fellow-well-met 
good-nature  for  which  the  South  German  character  is  also 
noted,  Herr  von  Marschail  is  an  adept  at  playing  upon  that 
which  Bismarck  described  as  a  mortgage  on  our  understanding, 
our  vanity,  and  is  thus  easily  credited  with  unaffected  simplicity 
by  those  who  are  more  simple  than  he.  Despite  that,  he  is  a 
kindly  friend  to  those  to  whom  he  takes  a  liking,  and,  I  am 
told,  liked  by  those  serving  under  him  and  others  with  whom  he 
may  come  into  contact  in  the  course  of  his  official  routine.  A 
keen  judge  of  values,  especially  those  of  the  intellect,  the  Press, 
and  the  democratic  trend  of  our  time  in  general,  his  judgment 
is  not  warped  and  handicapped  by  an  exaggerated  estimate  of 
rank  and  position  even  of  the  most  exalted  kind.  Thus 
e(|uipped  he  has  proved  himself  an  adept  in  the  practice  of  the 
so-called  "  New  Diplomacy,"  which,  whatever  its  drawbacks 
may  be,  has  served  his  purpose  hitherto  remarkably  well. 
While  his  predecessor  at  Constantinople  used  to  reserve  his 
confidences  for  the  representative  of  one  high-class  German 
paper  only,  no  journalistic  or  other  fish  were  ever  too  insignifi- 
cant to  be  worth  gathering  in  Baron  MarschalPs  net  and 
being    treated   with   the   robust   bonhomie   of    which   he   had 

244 


SOME    MEMORIES    RECALLED 

made  quite  a  specialty.  Thus  he  did  not,  like  other 
ambassadors,  restrict  his  intercourse  to  diplomatic  or  fashion- 
able society  in  Constantinople,  but,  when  suitable  occasions 
presented  themselves,  was  not  above  attending  artisan  clubs, 
clinking  glasses  with  their  members,  and  listening  to  the 
part-songs  which  form  such  a  marked  feature  of  German 
middle-class  social  life.  Above  all,  he  was  always  ready 
to  look  after  the  interests  of  the  humblest  members  of 
the  German  colony.  The  result  has  been  a  popularity  such 
as  probably  no  diplomatic  representative  in  the  Turkish 
capital  possessed  before  him.  Herr  von  Marschall  also  managed 
to  get  on  wonderfully  with  the  French  Ambassador,  though 
it  may  be  doubted  whether  the  Government  of  the  Republic 
gained  much  by  the  friendship. 

The  last  time  I  was  at  Constantinople,  in  1908,  an 
incident  took  place  which  tends  to  explain  the  popularity 
the  German  Ambassador  enjoyed,  even  outside  his  current 
official  activity  as  the  representative  of  his  country  in  Turkey. 
An  Englishman  of  my  acquaintance,  who  had  come  there 
on  business,  sought  the  assistance  of  the  British  Embassy 
in  order  to  obtain  some  facilities  which  involved  diplomatic 
action  beyond  the  ordinary  scope  of  consular  assistance. 
His  request  was  refused.  Indeed,  it  was  only  in  1908 
that  the  British  Embassy  for  the  first  time  deemed  it 
worth  while  to  send  an  ofiicial  representative  to  attend 
a  meeting  of  the  British  Chamber  of  Commerce  in  that 
city.  The  firm  which  Mr.  D.  represented  happened  to  be  one 
of  an  international  character,  established  in  Berlin  as  well  as  in 
London.  After  the  refusal  of  the  British  Embassy  to  assist 
him,  he  applied  to  the  German  Ambassador,  who  promised  his 
assistance  and  gave  it  with  complete  success. 

During  the  last  International  Conference  at  The  Hague,  I 
met  my  old  friend,  Mr.  Stead,  one  morning  at  the  Temple  station 
looking  very  glum.  He  had  just  returned  from  Holland,  and 
was  much  perturbed  by  the  trend  of  affairs  at  the  Conference, 
where,  he  said,  the  English   were   being  out-classed  and   put 

245 


GERMAN    MEMORIES 

ill  the  shade  by  the  Geniians.  The  British  senior  delegate  had 
received  the  English  journalists  in  corpore  and  snubbed  them. 
Some  of  them,  as  Mr.  Stead  said,  thought  "no  small  beer"  of 
themselves  and  were  considerably  huffed  in  consequence.  On 
leaving  Sir  Edward  Fry''s  presence  they  gave  loud  expression  to 
their  ill-humour ;  whereupon  they  were  apj)roached  by  a 
German  journalist,  who  asked  them  why  they  did  not  call  on 
the  first  German  delegate,  who,  he  felt  sure,  would  be  only  to 
])leased  to  receive  them.  The  idea  of  being  received  by  a  full- 
blown Ambassador  after  a  snub  from  one  who,  in  comparison, 
was  "  small  fry '"'  indeed,  appealed  to  the  knights  of  the  pen. 
So  they  lost  no  time  in  taking  the  hint  to  call  on  Herr  von 
Marschall,  who  had  come  from  Constantinople  to  represent 
German  interests  at  The  Hague  meeting.  The  result  of  their 
cordial  reception  and  the  dexterous  treatment  they  experienced 
at  his  hands,  flattering  them  to  the  top  of  their  bent,  led,  as  is 
well  known,  to  a  tremendous  newspaper  "  boom  ""  for  the  German 
delegate.  In  the  course  of  his  narrative,  told  in  Mr.  Stead's 
inimitable  way,  he  forgot  all  about  his  patriotic  misgivings, 
and  laughed  heartily  over  the  successful  pandering  to  human 
vanity. 

I  have  been  privileged  to  know  three  American  Ambassadors 
in  Berlin — Mr.  Andrew  D.  White,  Mr.  Charlemagne  Tower, 
and  Dr.  David  Jayne  Hill — who  thus  come  within  the  scope  of 
my  German  reminiscences.  Mr.  White  is  one  of  the  most 
distinguished  "intellectuals"  of  the  United  States.  He  was 
twice  Ambassador  at  Berlin  :  the  first  time  in  1879-81,  and 
again  from  1897  to  1902,  since  when  he  retired  into  private  life. 
He  s  a  sincere  admirer  of  Germany,  of  the  Emperor  William  I., 
of  Bismarck,  and  more  particularly  of  intellectual  Germany, 
distinguished  representatives  of  which  he  used  to  invite  to 
his  house.  There  I  have  met  some  of  the  leading  professors 
of  the  University  of  Berlin.  It  goes  without  saying  that 
it  was  considered  a  great  honour  to  be  invited  to  the  house 
of  this  eminent  man,  whose  record  as  a  thinker  is  familiar  to 
scholars  of  every  country  by  his  standard  work,  "  A  History 
246 


SOME    MEMORIES    RECALLED 

of  the  Warfare  of  Science  with  Theology  in  Christendom"" 
(1896). 

Mr.  Charlemagne  Tower  came  to  see  me  at  my  hotel  on  my 
return  from  Moscow  (January  1906),  where  I  had  been  an  eye- 
witness of  the  revolutionary  movement  in  that  city,  and  with 
regard  to  which  he  was  curious  to  know  what  I  had  seen.  I 
have  heard  it  said  that  Mr.  Charlemagne  Tower  recommended 
the  introduction  of  a  special  Court  uniform  for  American 
Ambassadors  and  their  staff,  which  has  since  been  adopted. 
Some  may  be  of  opinion  that  the  garb  worn  by  the  Adamses, 
the  Bancrofts,  the  Motleys,  and,  above  all,  by  American 
Presidents,  ought  to  be  good  enough  for  any  Court,  all  the 
more  so  since  it  has  hitherto — before  the  adoption  of  sundry 
decorative  Continental  values  of  to-day — been  considered  that 
the  Anglo-Saxon  type  of  the  unadorned  gentleman,  from  the 
time  of  Lord  Castlereagh  at  the  Vienna  Congress  onward,  was 
second  to  none,  indeed  the  most  distinguished  of  any.  But  it  is 
not  given  to  everybody,  not  even  to  every  American  Ambassador, 
to  rise  to  an  exceptional  occasion  as  did  Beethoven,  who,  when 
somebody  told  him  he  had  employed  an  unallowed  harmonious 
progression,  replied,  "  /  allow  it." 

I  met  Dr.  David  Jayne  Hill  the  last  time  I  was  in  Berlin, 
and  regret  that  I  was  unable  to  defer  my  departure  and  accept 
an  invitation  he  kindly  gave  me,  for  I  have  always  looked  upon 
it  as  one  of  the  richer  returns  of  intellectual  work  that  now  and 
then  it  brings  us  into  touch  with  men  of  this  stamp — men  who 
have  been  chosen  among  hundreds  of  thousands  by  the  supreme 
authority  of  their  country  as  the  fittest  to  do  honour  to  their 
native  land  by  representing  it  officially  at  foreign  Courts, 
Great,  therefore,  was  my  surprise  when  I  read  in  the  Berlin 
correspondence  of  an  English  newspaper  that  Dr.  Jayne  Hill 
was  not  likely  to  "  feel  himself  at  home  "  in  the  atmosphere  of  the 
Court  of  Berlin.  If  a  Berlin  sheet  written  for  lackeys  and  servant 
girls  had  made  such  a  statement  it  would  not  have  concerned 
me ;  but,  as  an  Englishman,  I  was  sorry  to  see  a  countryman  of 
mine,  presumably  engaged  to  transmit  important  news  from 
Berlin    to  his   London  employers,  making    such   a  statement. 

247 


GERMAN    MEMORIES 

The  question  of  the  small  salary  attached  to  the  post  of  an 
American  Ambassador  was  also  mentioned.  This,  however,  was 
a  matter  which  could  only  concern  Americans.  It  came  as  a 
revelation  to  me  that  fifty  years  after  a  German  Professor 
(Mohl)  and  his  English  wife  had  held  court  in  Paris  on  the  fourth 
floor  of  a  house  in  the  Rue  du  Bac,  to  which  a  King  of  Holland 
came,  while  Napoleon  III.  expressed  regret  that  he  had  not  been 
invited,  it  could  have  been  possible  to  discuss  such  a  trumpery 
point  as  an  Ambassador's  "  fitness  "  in  connection  with  the  length 
of  his  purse  and  his  capacity  for  ostentatious  display.  That 
such  a  man  as  Dr.  Hill  should  feel  himself  bored  among 
"  Transparencies,"  Court  Chamberlains,  Gold  Sticks,  Silver 
Sticks,  Black  Rods,*_^  Vortdnzer,^  and  other  histrionic  "  supers,"" 
might  be  assumed ;  that  he  should  not  care  for  the  blare 
of  brass  bands,  which  Prince  Hohenlohe  complained  of  as 
"  such  a  vile  nuisance,"  at  the  everlasting  gala,  parade  and 
festive  lunches,  dinners,  and  Court  functions,  will  also  be 
readily  understood  ;  that,  however,  he  could  have  felt  "  uncom- 
fortable," in  the  sense  of  being  awed  or  impressed  by  such 
surroundings,  is  most  unlikely.  But  the  Court  Marshals, 
and  other  irresponsible  intriguers — those  that  Bismarck  had 
contemptuously  termed  Court  lackeys — might  well  be  expected 
to  feel  "  uncomfortable "  in  the  presence  of  a  really  eminent 
man ;  and  it  is  not  suiprising  to  hear  that  they  could  not 
rest  until  the  nightmare  of  his  superiority  in  everything  which 
constitutes  moral  value,  sincerity,  veracity,  and  loyalty  was 
removed  from  their  sight. 

When  Dr.  Hill  arrived  in  Berlin  he  bore  himself  with  the 
dignity  of  one  of  Nature's  gentlemen.  Referring  to  the 
uuedifying  Press  campaign  which  immediately  preceded  his 
arrival,  he  said  to  a  friend:  "I  will  not  allow  my  thoughts  to 
be  disturbed  by  a  heaviness  which  has  passed,  an  incident 
which  is  closed.  I  have  come  here  with  goodwill  towards  every 
one,  and  I  wish  this  frame  of  mind  to  be  mine  in  my  dealings 
with  all  men." 

1  The  English  language  does  not,  as  far  as  I  know,  possess  an  equivalent 
term  for  the  function  of  a  leader  of  court  dances. 

24-8 


SOME    MEJNIORIP^S    RECALLED 

If  I  dwell  somewhat  at  length  on  this  topic  it  is  because  I 
believe  that  the  part  of  an  American  Ambassador  in  Berlin 
may,  in  the  near  future,  become  one  of  more  international 
importance  in  connection  with  the  ever-recurrent  differences 
between  England  and  Germany  and  the  United  States  than 
that  of  all  the  Court  Marshals  in  Europe.  Another  reason,  of 
a  personal  nature,  why  I  have  expanded  my  notes  is  that  the 
raising  of  the  question  of  Dr.  Jayne  Hill's  qualification  for  the 
post  of  Ambassador  touches  my  philosophy  of  life  in  its  bearing 
on  imaginary  and  real  values.  If  distinction  of  character,  a 
spotless  record  in  private  life,  a  temperament  of  benevolence 
and  goodwill  towards  all  men,  and  a  high  standard  of  intel- 
lectual attainments  be  criteria,  then  I  say  that  I  have  never 
in  my  life  met  three  picked  men  of  any  profession  to  surpass 
the  three  representatives  of  the  United  States  whom  I  have 
named.  It  takes  100,000  men  or  more  to  produce  an  Andrew 
D.  White  or  a  David  Jayne  Hill,  whereas  every  third  decently 
grown  adult  could  be  turned  into  a  Court  lackey  or  a  hall- 
porter.  There  is  a  ridiculous  glamour  attached  to  the  profession 
of  a  courtier  in  this  age  of  impressionist  superficialities  and 
insincerities.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  manners  and  modes 
of  thought  of  a  courtier  are  really  inferior  manners  and  modes 
of  thought.  They  can  only  be  inferior,  for  the  courtier  lives  in 
an  atmosphere  of  servility,  where  the  dignity  and  independence 
from  which  alone  the  best  thought  and  manners  can  spring 
must  be  lacking.  The  profession  of  a  courtier  is,  and  remains, 
a  derogatory  one,  which  can  only  be  redeemed  by  a  rare  com- 
bination of  tact  and  intelligence,  such,  for  instance,  as 
was  possessed  by  the  late  Count  Gotz  von  Seckendorff. 


I  met  Count  Seckendorff  in  the  winter  of  1905-6  at  the 
house  of  the  Privy  Councillor  of  Legation,  Herr  Raschdau, 
formerly  Prussian  Minister  at  the  Court  of  Weimar,  and  re- 
mained in  close  touch  with  him,  either  by  direct  personal 
contact  or  correspondence,  until  his  death.  I  still  possess  a 
specimen  of   Adolf  Hildebrand's   beautiful  silver  medallion  of 

249 


GERMAN    MEMORIES 

Bismarck's  profile,  which  the  Count  gave  me  the  last  time  I  saw 
him  in  Berlin,  where  he  occupied  a  charming  apartment  in  the 
Oberwallstrasse,  behind  the  palace  of  the  Emperor  William  I. 
It  was  furnished  with  exquisite  taste,  and  contained  many 
treasures  of  Italian  Renaissance  work,  bronzes,  medallions,  rare 
gold  and  silver  coins,  tankards,  miniatures,  and  some  drawings 
of  the  Empress  Frederick,  all  of  which  he  delighted  to  show  me 
when  he  invited  me  to  lunch  with  him  on  his  birthday. 

From  our  first  acquaintance  we  found  many  topics  in  which 
we  wei'e  both  interested  —  notably  the  relations  between 
England  and  Germany,  with  regard  to  which  Count  Secken- 
dorff'  was  an  unbiassed  observer.  Being  on  intimate  terms  with 
the  English  Royal  Family  and  with  many  of  the  English 
aristocracy  he  was  well  informed  on  both  sides.  With  all  his 
German  patriotism  he  had  strong  English  sympathies,  so  that 
in  our  many  conversations  on  political  matters  I  now  and  then 
found  him  championing  the  English  side  of  the  situation  whilst 
I  was  endeavouring  to  put  in  a  good  word  for  Germany.  He 
said  that  if  England  were  to  send  a  strong  man  of  the  type  of 
Lord  Cromer  to  Berlin  as  Ambassador,  and  Germany  were  to 
send  a  suitable  personage  to  London,  a  great  deal  more  might 
be  done  towards  arriving  at  an  amicable  understanding  than 
by  any  number  of  "  decorative "  visits.  But  he  regretted 
that  there  were  certain  occult  infiuences  in  Berlin  which  were 
bent  on  preventing  friendly  relations  with  England,  and  these 
had  hitherto  been  opposed  to  such  an  appointment  which  the 
English  were  quite  ready  to  make. 

Count  Seckendorff  assured  me  that  the  desire  for  an  under- 
standing with  Germany  had  undoubtedly  been  honest  on  the 
part  of  England,  but  already,  years  ago,  the  advances  of  Mr. 
Chamberlain  had  been  repulsed  in  Berlin.  When  King 
Edward  came  to  the  throne  he  took  over  an  unsatisfactory 
condition  of  things,  of  which  he  had  to  make  the  best  he  could. 
The  reproach  that  he  harboured  enmity  to  Germany  was 
a  grave  injustice.  A  good  understanding  with  Germany  had 
always  been  a  matter  near  his  heart,  as  he  was  a  great  admirer 
of  the  German  people,  though  not  of  everything  German,  and 
250 


SOME    MEMORIES    RECALLED 

more  particularly  Prussian.  Count  Seckendorff' related  to  me  a 
variety  of  personal  incidents  which  would  go  a  long  way 
towards  explaining  a  certain  aigreur  in  high  circles,  as  well  as 
much  of  the  diplomatic  tension  between  England  and  Germany. 
He  told  me  that  the  German  Emperor  lives  in  an  imaginary 
world,  a  mirage  as  regards  the  reality  of  things ;  and 
bitterly  complained  that  nobody  had  the  courage  to  tell  him 
the  truth  or  advise  him  honestly  in  accordance  with  it. 
Count  Seckendorf  wa,?,  persona  grata  with  King  Edward,  being- 
one  of  the  very  few  unofficial  Germans  whom  the  English 
Sovereign  expressly  invited  to  his  coronation. 

I  was  staying  in  Berlin  for  some  months  at  the  time  of  the 
Algeciras  Conference,  and,  as  we  were  both  early  risers,  Count 
Seckendorff  used  to  come  to  my  hotel  every  other  morning  and 
share  my  breakfast  with  me  at  eight  o'clock.  We  spent  some 
evenings  together,  when  he  would  take  pleasure  in  bringing 
me  into  touch  with  some  of  his  personal  friends  and  relatives, 
among  the  former  Countess  Wolkenstein,  once,  as  Countess 
Schleinitz,  known  as  an  enthusiastic  champion  of  Richard 
Wagner.  I  also  met  him  repeatedly  at  dinner,  as  a  guest  of 
Prince  Biilow,  in  the  Reichskanzler  Palais,  and  elsewhere. 

Count  Seckendorff  was  a  distinguished-looking  man,  who 
united  in  his  person  the  best  culture  of  England,  France, 
Germany,  and  Italy,  the  languages  of  which  countries  he  spoke 
with  equal  fluency.  He  had  not  mixed  in  Court  life  without 
being  a  sure-footed  walker  on  the  most  slippery  of  polished 
floors.  One  who  knew  him  well  said  to  me,  "  He  was  an 
expert  swimmer  even  in  the  most  treacherous  waters." 

Count  Seckendorff  had  been  for  many  years  attached  to  the 
household  of  the  Emperor  Frederick,  and  was  Maitre  de  la 
Cour,  or  Obej'hofnieister,  to  the  Empress  Frederick  till  her 
death.  He  shared  and  fostered  her  artistic  tastes.  His 
authority  on  art  matters  was  highly  valued  by  a  wide  circle  of 
friends  and  acquaintances  in  difterent  countries.  This  interest 
he  endeavoured  to  utilise  in  a  truly  cosmopolitan  spirit  to 
further  national  affinities  by  bringing  together  the  artistic 
work  of  nations.     On   this  account  alone    the    Counfs   death 

251 


GERMAN    MEMORIES 

may,  without  exaggeration,  be  held  to  be  an  international  loss 
to  the  cause  of  peace,  concord,  and  culture.  He  was  instru- 
mental in  bringing  about  an  exhibition  of  French  art  at  Berlin  ; 
but  his  most  notable  achievement  in  this  direction  was  the 
share  he  took  in  arranging  the  remarkable  exhibition  of 
English  pictures  at  Berlin  in  the  winter  of  1907-8,  which 
came  to  the  Prussian  capital  as  a  perfect  revelation  of  the 
treasures  of  British  art.  Probably  only  Count  Seckendorff 
could  have  persuaded  so  many  English  collectors  to  lend  the 
priceless  masterpieces  that  were  exhibited  on  that  occasion. 
The  Emperor  Frederick  Museum  was  also,  I  believe,  largely 
indebted  to  Count  SeckendorfTs  artistic  efforts. 

The  following  letter,  dated  January  8,  1908 — one  of  many — 
refers  to  the  exhibition  of  English  pictures  in  Berlin  : 

"  Dear  Mr.  Whitman, 

"  I  return  your  kind  wishes  for  a  happy  New  Year  with 
all  my  heart. 

"Thanks  for  the  cutting.  So  sorry  that  I  could  not  come 
and  see  you  when  in  London  the  other  day.  I  was  occupied 
with  the  forthcoming  exhibition.  Thanks  to  British  gallantry 
I  hope  that  it  will  be  a  great  success,  and  contribute  towards 
that  which  ever  so  many  visits  cannot  do.  When  all  is  well 
over  I  shall  come — when  the  rhododendrons  are  blooming — to 
old  England,  and  enjoy  once  more  your  ever-glorious  country. 

"  I  trust  you  have  felt  a  little  for  us,  car  fespere  que  vous 
nous  gardi'Z  un  coeur  ouvert . 

"  Your  fine  pictures  will  be,  as  you  say,  pour  une  autre  fois. 
Get  hold  of  the  Memoiren  der  Fran  z>on  Rochow  (new)  am 
PreussiscJien  Hofe. 

"  Once  more — tanti  felicissimi  augur'i. 

"  Faithfully  yours, 

"  GoTz  Seckendorff." 

Count  SeckendorfTs  career  was  an  interesting  one  ;  he  was 
present  at  the  battle  of  Sedan,  and  used  to  relate  with  a  certain 
pride  how  the  Emperor  William  took  his  pocket-book  as  a  rest, 
252 


SOME    MEMORIES    RECALLED 

which  he  himself  held,  whilst  the  Monarch  wrote  his  reply  to 
the  letter  of  surrender  which  he  had  received  from  the  Emperor 
Napoleon. 

England  never  had  a  truer  and  more  clear-sighted  friend,  nor 
one  who  more  deeply  deplored  the  estrangement  which  has 
gradually  grown  up  between  the  two  kindred  nations.  He  saw 
with  impartiality  the  faults  on  both  sides,  and  used  his  great 
influence  to  smooth  matters  over  in  high  places.  One  of  his 
greatest  regrets  was  the  extraordinary  ignorance  which,  as  he 
believed,  existed  in  both  countries  in  regard  to  the  other,  and 
more  particularly  in  England  as  to  Germany.  He  told  me 
that  he  had  met  very  few  Englishmen  in  his  whole  life  who 
really  knew  more  than  the  mere  surface  of  Germany.  Among 
those  few  was  King  Edward,  and  he  attributed  this  to  the  fact 
that  he  was  partially  German  by  descent. 

Many  were  the  topics  which  we  discussed  together  in  the 
kindly  spirit  of"  give  and  take,"  which  always  left  me  with  a 
feeling  of  deep  sympathy  for  him.  This  was,  perhaps,  only 
natural,  inasmuch  as  we  can  but  feel  kindly  and  grateful  to 
those  who  pay  us  the  compliment  of  taking  us  unreservedly 
into  their  confidence.  Count  Seckendorft'  was  proudly  con- 
scious of  the  power  and  greatness  of  his  own  country,  but 
thought  that  Germany  had  not  yet  had  sufficient  time  to 
acquire  the  social  refinement  which  she  needed  to  balance  the 
high  moral  and  intellectual  attainments  of  the  German  people. 
This  seemed  to  him  to  be  more  particularly  the  case  with 
North  Germany  ;  one  of  his  favourite  quotations  on  this  subject 

was  : 

Dein  Lied  ist  roh 
Allein  dea  Nordmana's  Wiiste  schuf  es  so.* 


I  have  already  written  somewhat  extensively  on  the  German 
army,  yet  I  feel  my  memories  would  not  be  complete  without 
a  short  reference  to  the  military  element,  with  which  I  have 

1  "  Thy  song  is  rude — 
Alas  !   the  Norseman's  sandy  waste  hath  made  it  so." 

25§ 


GERMAN    MEMORIES 

come  into  frequent  contact,  and  among  which  I  still  prize  a 
number  of  friends.  Independently  of  my  acquaintance  with 
Counts  Moltke  and  Blumenthal  and  the  great  number  of 
distinguished  soldiers  I  have  met  in  German  society,  I  have  been 
a  frequent  guest  at  different  officers'  messes  at  Dresden,  Berlin, 
and  Erfurt,  all  most  pleasant  reminiscences  now  that  over 
twenty  years  have  elapsed  since  the  last  occasion  when  I 
enjoyed  this  hospitality.  The  fare  was  plain  and  the  wines  were 
inexpensive,  the  cost  of  the  former  scarcely  running  to  one 
mark  a  head,  and  the  latter  to  about  the  same  price  per  bottle ; 
but  so  excellent  were  invariably  both  food  and  wine  that  I 
would  gladly  partake  of  them  to-day  in  preference  to  the  fare 
at  many  an  expensive  hotel. 

Nothing  could  exceed  the  courtesy  and  goodwill  with  which 
a  stranger,  introduced  by  a  brother  officer,  was  met ;  far 
exceeding  in  its  cordiality  that  which  I  believe  to  be  usual  in 
other  armies.  The  officer  who  brings  a  guest  to  dinner  does 
not  introduce  him  to  his  comrades,  but  only  to  the  superior 
presiding  officer.  Thereupon  the  other  officers  take  the 
initiative — as  is  usual  towards  strangers  throughout  German 
society — and  come  forward  and  introduce  themselves  to  their 
comrade's  guest.  This  custom,  so  diffisrent  to  our  own  social 
habits,  whilst  it  may  occasionally  lead  to  a  certain  unwelcome 
obtrusiveness,  has  at  all  events  the  pleasant  effect  of  banishing 
all  ghie  Siwdifausse  honte — the  bane  of  the  stranger  in  all  but 
the  best  English  society,  unless  he  happens  to  be  one  of 
those  whose  wide  experience  of  social  life  places  him  beyond 
any  feeling  of  nervousness  in  strange  company.  A  peculiar 
etiquette,  which  I  believe  to  be  solely  current  in  German 
military  circles,  is  the  passive  role  assigned  at  table  to  young 
non-commissioned  officers,  ensigns  who  are  undergoing  their 
period  of  probation  before  obtaining  lieutenant's  rank.  They 
are  admitted  to  dine  at  the  officers'  mess,  but  they  are  not  yet 
supposed  to  have  acquired  the  full  status  of  social  equality, 
and  thus  are  not  expected  to  start  a  conversation  at  table,  but 
only  to  reply  when  addressed.  I  have  seen  men  of  princely 
birth  play  an  absolutely  passive  part  on  such  occasions.  On 
^54 


SOME    MEMORIES  RECALLED 

the  other  hand,  a  man  who  is  once  an  officer,  even  if  only  the 
youngest  lieutenant,  moves,  when  oft'  duty,  on  a  plane  of  social 
equality  with  a  full  general.  I  remember  spending  an  evening 
with  a  number  of  officers  of  the  Guards  in  a  reserved  apart- 
ment of  a  Berlin  restaurant  at  which  the  late  General  von 
Meerscheidt-Huellessen,  the  commander  of  the  Garde  Corps, 
was  present.  Some  sergeants  performed  humorous  sketches 
for  the  amusement  of  those  present,  and  the  prevailing 
tone  was  one  of  jovial,  almost  boisterous  hilarity  ;  nothing 
denoted  the  slightest  distinction  between  the  youngest  lieutenant 
and  the  full  "Excellency."  This  spirit  of  comradeship, 
I  fancy,  exists  nowhere  to  the  same  extent,  not  even  in 
the  Austrian  army,  where  a  certain  distance  invariably  separates 
the  higher  grades  in  the  army  from  the  subaltern,  even 
when  off"  duty.  In  Germany  it  would  be  considered  a 
lack  of  courtesy  for  a  full  general  not  to  reciprocate  the 
advances  which  the  youngest  subaltern  is  privileged,  and 
indeed  called  upon,  to  make  to  his  superior  in  rank.  In 
England  several  cases  come  to  my  mind  in  which  even 
staff"  officers  have  not  felt  themselves  at  liberty  to  ask 
to  be  introduced  to  a  general. 

During  one  of  my  visits  to  Count  Bethusy-Huc  in  Sep- 
tember 1891,  I  had  an  opportunity  of  witnessing  the  Silesian 
autumn  manoeuvres.  The  late  Count  William  Moltke,  heir  of 
Field-Marshal  Moltke''s  Creisau  estate  and  a  relative  of  Countess 
Bethusy,  paid  her  a  visit  with  several  officers.  One  of  them. 
Major  von  Konig,  a  Hanoverian,  a  remarkably  handsome 
man,  had  been  on  the  staff"  of  Prince  Frederick  Charles 
in  the  1870  war.  Another  told  us  a  story  of  his  own 
experiences.  During  the  forced  march  to  Sedan  with  his 
regiment  they  met  Moltke  and  his  staff"  on  the  road.  One  of 
the  officers  of  my  informant's  regiment  ventured  to  ask  him 
how  things  were  going,  to  which  Moltke  replied  with  a 
twinkle  :  "  The  trap  is  shut  and  the  mouse  is  inside."  This  in 
obvious  anticipatory  reference  to  the  climax  of  Sedan,  which 
took  eff"ect  a  few  days  afterwards. 

Count  Moltke  was  colonel  of  a  cavalry  regiment  which  was 

255 


GERMAN    MEMORIES 

taking  part  in  the  manoeuvres  not  far  away,  and  he  invited  me 
and  an  Enghsh  friend  of  mine,  who  had  been  an  officer  in  an 
English  cavalry  regiment,  to  be  his  guests  for  the  next 
day. 

Count  Bethusy-Huc  liiinself  drove  us  very  early  next 
morning  to  the  trysting-place,  where  we  were  to  be  supplied 
with  horses  and  to  take  part  in  the  proceedings.  It  was  a  small 
provincial  town.  The  reveille  had  just  sounded  and  the  soldiers 
were  tumbling  out  of  their  quarters  ;  quite  a  stirring  sight 
to  see  the  Uhlans  issue  forth  in  single  file  as  patrols,  followed 
by  small  squads  of  hussars  and  columns  of  infantry.  "There 
goes  Moltke's  brown  mare,"  cried  an  officer,  who  recognised  my 
portly  "  mount."  We  had  a  most  enjoyable  time  careering  over 
the  fields  after  the  troops  engaged  in  mimic  warfare.  AVe  rode 
past  woods  filled  with  sharpshooters  who,  according  to  the 
opinion  of  my  English  friend,  would  not  have  left  one  of  us 
alive  in  real  warfare.  We  looked  on  at  impossible  cavalry 
charges ;  but  this  did  not  interfere  with  an  excellent  appetite 
at  luncheon  time,  partaken  of  in  the  open  air.  A  General  von 
Liegnitz  was  in  supreme  command,  and  he,  as  well  as  the 
members  of  his  staff,  received  us  most  kindly. 

On  one  occasion  in  the  eighties  I  was  invited  to  take 
part  in  an  afternoon  shooting-match  held  by  the  members  of 
the  Berlin  Officierschiessverein,  on  the  Hasenheide,  at  which 
the  Commander  of  the  Garde  Corps  was  present.  I  had  had 
many  years'*  practice  at  rifle-shooting  and  had  won  several  cups 
at  different  German  shooting  meetings,  and  was  now  fortunate 
enough  to  carry  off"  two  prizes,  one  of  which  consisted  of  a 
fancy-painted  target.  I  presented  it  to  the  Rifle  Corps  of 
Schreiberhau,  of  which  I  was  an  honorary  member,  and  in  the 
Schutzenhaus  of  which,  for  all  I  know,  it  may  still  be  seen 
among  other  trophies.  However,  it  is  only  fair  to  add  that 
the  officer  through  whom  I  received  the  invitation  was  pre- 
vented at  the  last  moment  from  accompanying  me.  Had  he 
been  present  he  would  probably  have  supplanted  me,  for  he 
was  reputed  to  be  the  best  rifle  shot  in  the  Prussian  army. 

At  a  later  date  I  was  present  at  a  gathering  of  officers  of  the 
256 


SOME    MEMORIES    RECALLED 

great  general  staff  on  one  of  their  so-called  Generalstabsreisen 
(staff  rides)  at  Ilmenau  in  Thuringia.  This  is  one  of  mv  most 
interesting  military  reminiscences,  as  it  afforded  me  an  insight 
into  an  institution  which  originated  in  Prussia  and  has  since 
been  adopted  by  every  army  throughout  the  world.  The 
gathering  comprised  sixty  or  seventy  officers  of  different  grades, 
either  belonging  to  the  great  general  staff  or  specially  attached 
thereto  for  service  therein  for  a  given  time.  The  conditions 
were  those  of  the  strictest  subordination  of  all  present  under 
the  colonel  in  command,  who,  to  judge  by  his  appearance,  was 
a  very  brainy  personage.  His  disciplinary  supremacy  even  at 
dinner  was  maintained,  for  when  the  post  arrived  all  letters 
were  delivered  into  his  hands  and  given  by  him  to  the 
members  of  the  staff  as  he  read  out  the  names  one  after  the 
other. 

I  was  the  only  civilian  guest  at  the  anniversary  dinner  of  the 
battle  of  Gravelotte  given  by  the  Second  Guard  Regiment 
on  August  18,  1889,  at  which  the  hereditary  Prince  of 
Meiningen  presided  and  130  officers  were  present.  Military 
after-dinner  oratory  had  not  yet  come  into  fashion,  and,  as 
far  as  I  can  recollect,  not  a  single  speech  was  made.  Alto- 
gether my  experiences  of  German  miiitavy  life  do  not  fit  in 
at  all  with  the  version  given  in  Count  Baudissin's  novels,  in 
Beyerlein's  well-known  romance,  and  also  in  that  sensational 
book,  Aus  einer  kleinen  Garnison.  If  these  works  have  any 
solid  basis  in  fact  I  can  only  surmise  that  the  conditions  in 
the  German  army  to-day  must  have  undergone  a  great 
change  since  my  expei'ience  of  them,  when  Carlyle's  brute-  od 
Mammon  had  not  yet  fixed  his  cruel  claws  into  the  flesh  of  the 
German  officer  corps.  What  these  conditions  were  at  a 
previous  period  is  set  forth  to  some  extent  in  the  chapter 
dealing  with  Field-Marshal  Count  Blumenthal.  Those  were 
days  in  which  luxury,  gambling,  and  the  frenzied  quest  for  rich 
wives  were  comparatively  unknown  in  the  Prussian  army.  My 
own  experiences  find  their  nearest  parallel  in  the  military 
sketches  written  long  beibre  my  time  by  Hacklaender;  in 
which   the   quality   of  human    sympathy   as   between   brother 

R  257 


GERMAN    MEMORIES 

officers  and  their  subordinates  casts  a  sympathetic  glow  over 
the  career  of  arms  in  Germany. 

I  made  the  acquaintance  of  General  Verdy  du  Vernois  in 
Berlin  shortly  after  his  retirement  from  the  post  of  Prussian 
Minister  of  War.  I  met  him  again  in  Constantinople  in 
1896  and  was  subsequently  instrumental  in  bringing  out  an 
English  edition  of  his  most  interesting  reminiscences  of  1870.^ 
He  was  a  most  intellectual  man  and  a  highly  entertaining 
companion.  I  saw  him  for  the  last  time  in  Berlin,  during  the 
Algeciras  Confei-ence ;  when  he  expressed  himself  with  deep 
concern  regarding  the  uncertain  state  of  things  :  more  particularly 
in  respect  to  the  antagonism  between  England  and  Germany 
which  had  come  about  of  late. 

A  German  officer  having  recommended  me  to  read  the  late 
Count  Yorck  von  Wartenburg's  work  on  Napoleon  als  Feld- 
herr^  I  did  so,  and  after  some  correspondence  with  the  author 
I  was  also  successful  in  getting  that  excellent  book  translated 
into  English  and  published  in  an  English  edition;^  though  I 
regret  to  say  that  I  never  had  the  pleasure  of  meeting  the 
author,  whose  brilliant  career  was  prematurely  cut  short  by  his 
death  in  China. 

The  Spanish-American  War  affiarded  me  an  opportunity 
of  meeting  several  distinguished  German  military  writers.  I 
was  in  Berlin  at  the  time,  and  the  New  York  Herald  was 
anxious  to  know  German  military  opinion  on  the  chances  of 
the  United  States  army  in  the  intended  invasion  of  Cuba. 
The  authorities  whom  I  consulted  were  the  well-known  military 
writers,  Captain  Fritz  Honig,  Colonel  Pellet-Narbonne,  and 
General  von  Boguslawski  ;  all  three  since  deceased.  With 
every  respect  to  their  memory,  I  may  yet  mention  that  these 
milicary  authorities  were  wrong  in  their  estimate  of  the 
situation  ;  for  all  three  were  decidedly  of  opinion  that  the 
chances  of  the  Americans   were  hopeless  against  the  Spanish 

1  With  the  Boyal  Headquarters  1870-71,  by  General  von  Verdy  du  Vernois. 
London  :  Kegan  Paul,  Trench,  Triilmer  &  Co.,  1897. 

2  Kapoleon  as  a  General,  by  Count  Yorck  von  Wartenburg.  London  :  Kegan 
Paul,  Trench,  Trubner  &  Co.,  1902. 

258 


SOME    MEMORIES    RECALLED 

troops  under  General  Blanco,  unless  the  United  States  proceeded 
to  land  200,000  men  in  Cuba.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  the 
United  States  forces  which,  vfith  the  support  of  the  American 
fleet,  conquered  Cuba  could  scarcely  have  reached  one-eighth  of 
that  number. 


S59 


CHAPTER  XXII 
CONCLUSION 

Concluding  my  experiences  in  the  spirit  indicated  in  the 
preface,  I  recall  a  few  impressions  and  incidents  which  occur 
to  me  as  reflecting  some  suggestive  features  of  German  life  and 
character.  The  stranger  entering  Germany  from  the  west,  the 
east,  or  the  south  can  scarcely  fail  to  be  struck  by  the  clean 
aspect  of  the  towns,  the  tidiness  and  order  of  the  population. 
It  is  only  on  arriving  from  Switzerland,  or  from  the  highly 
developed  Scandinavian  countries  in  the  north,  that  these 
features  and  the  contrast  they  imply  are  less  striking. 
Nowhere  are  there  to  be  seen  that  dirty,  foul  pipe  and 
pestilential  cigarette-puffing  residuum  which  infest  our  large 
towns. 

One  summer  afternoon  I  took  a  stroll  outside  Cologne  along 
the  Rhine  quay  to  the  Flora  Garden  Restaurant  to  hear  the 
band.  There  were  many  people  about,  for  it  was  Saturday, 
and  hundreds  of  workmen  were  leaving  their  work.  I  scanned 
them  carefully.  A  very  few  were  smoking  cigars,  two  or  three 
had  pipes,  and  I  noticed  that  they  were  the  only  untidily 
dressed  among  the  whole  throng.  Of  cigarette  smokers  I  saw 
none. 

In  the  tramcars  between  Berlin  and  Charlottenburg,  of  an 
evening,  I  have  often  counted  considerably  more  passengers 
reading  books  than  newspapers.  Smokers  were  at  all  times 
very  few.  No  smoking  cars  being  provided,  those  who  wish  to 
smoke  have  to  stand  outside  on  the  foot-board.  These 
examples,  cited  at  random,  might,  I  am  sure,  be  paralleled 
every  day  throughout  the  year  in  fifty  German  towns,  more 
particularly  in  the  north.  In  all  my  experiences  of  factory  life, 
J^60 


CONCLUSION 

coming  into  contact  with  many  hundreds  of  working  men,  I 
cannot  recall  a  single  instance  of  habitual  drunkenness  or 
gambling  among  them  ;  whereas  drink,  gluttony,  gambling, 
and  rowdyism  have  been  on  the  increase  among  strata  which 
would  resent  being  included  as  "  workers."  This  absence  of 
excess  on  the  part  of  the  masses  is  all  the  more  remarkable 
since  beer,  wine  and  spirits  are  far  cheaper  than  in  England, 
and  there  is  practically  no  limit  to  the  facilities  for  drinking 
and  gambling  at  all  hours  :  cards  and  dice  are  obtainable  at 
most  restaurants  and  beerhouses  in  the  empire.  The  many 
vexatious  restrictions  of  our  licensing  laws  as  regards  closing 
time  and  the  prohibition  to  sell  liquor  outside  the  premises 
(in  the  open  air  in  a  garden)  do  not  exist  in  Germany  :  the 
fact  that  they  are  not  needed  supplies  eloquent  testimony  to 
the  high  sociological  level  of  the  German  people. 

Much  is  made  of  the  arbitrary  nature  of  German  police 
regulations,  the  ever-present  monition  that  something  or  other 
is  prohibited — Verhoten — and  there  is  of  course  for  this  a 
foundation  in  fact,  as  there  is  a  reverse  side  to  every  question. 
I  have  been  pushed  oif  the  pavement  by  the  police  at  the 
Friedrichstrasse  station  on  the  arrival  of  some  archducal 
nonentity  to  the  accompaniment  of  the  Austrian  national 
hymn  brayed  forth  by  a  brass  band,  and  have  survived  the 
disagreeable  experience.  But  many  of  the  police  prohibitions 
are  conceived  in  the  best  interest  of  the  public,  as  evidenced 
by  the  numerous  notices  to  be  seen  in  public  gardens  that  the 
ornamental  grounds  are  "herewith  recommended  to  the  pro- 
tection of  the  public,"  But  I  doubt  whether  in  the  whole 
schedule  of  German  police  prohibitions  there  is  any  paragraph 
embodying  such  degrading  treatment  of  the  German  people  as 
those  contained  and  rigidly  enforced  in  our  licensing  laws 
regarding  the  regulation  of  the  liquor  traffic  on  Sundays. 

Somehow,  in  spite  of  a  thousand  police  regulations,  a  sense 
of  freedom  comes  over  us,  which  is  marred  there  where  the 
land  is  parcelled  out  and  divided  up  by  high  walls  and  hedges 
down  to  the  last  square  foot.  The  South  of  Germany,  for 
instance,   as   pointed   out   by    Mr.    C.    G.   Masterman   in    his 

261 


GERMAN    MEMORIES 

illuminating  work,  The  Condition  of  England^  makes  the 
impression  of  being  one  large  garden  with  the  beauty  of  a 
"  peasants'  country."  There  is  a  feeling  for  space  which  meets 
you  in  the  broad  planning  of  railways,  public  buildings,  even 
public  pleasure  resorts,  and  teeming  life  meets  you  everywhere 
on  rivers,  canals,  and  roadsides.  At  Kiel,  even  on  the  Alster 
basin  at  Hamburg,  there  are  nearly  as  many  pleasure  craft  to 
be  seen  as  on  Southampton  Water  in  the  month  of  August. 
People  get  up  early  even  for  pleasure.  The  railway  stations 
are  crowded  with  excursionists  on  holidays  as  early  as  five 
o'clock  in  the  morning  in  the  summer.  I  have  noticed  a  man 
fishing  thus  early  on  a  Sunday  morning  near  Potsdam.  There 
is  a  sense  of  enjoyment  of  nature  in  this  people.  Without 
a  great  increase  in  national  wealth  it  would  have  been  obviously 
impossible  to  create  much  that  has  been  accomplished.  Rarely 
has  money  been  expended  so  judiciously  or  with  such  a  breadth 
of  mind  and  fulness  of  heart  as  in  Germany  in  our  time.  This 
has  been  notably  the  case  in  the  construction  of  hospitals,  the 
laying  out  of  cemeteries  in  the  country,  far  from  the  madding 
crowd  :  the  Friedhof,  the  haven  of  peace — the  Campo-Santo 
of  the  Italians — where  rose-trees  are  cultivated  and  the 
idealism  of  a  people  finds  expression. 

The  efficiency  of  the  public  services  in  Germany,  such  as  the 
post,  the  telegraph,  and  the  railway,  is  generally  recognised,  but 
some  are  inclined  to  think  that  this  efficiency  is  purchased  at 
the  price  of  cramping  the  initiative  of  the  individual,  which  is 
also  a  valuable  asset  in  a  people's  ledger.  As  a  matter  of  fact, 
at  no  time  in  German  history  has  private  enterprise  been  so 
active  as  to-day.  But,  however  this  may  be,  it  will  take  a  deal 
of  "  individual  initiative "  to  achieve  some  of  the  feats  of 
organisation  which  are  to  be  seen  at  work  as  a  part  of  every- 
day life  in  Germany,  and  which,  in  the  case  of  railways,  might 
be  of  vital  importance  to  the  very  existence  of  the  State  in 
time  of  war.  I  will  only  cite  a  couple  of  instances  of  this 
efficiency  which  have  come  under  my  notice,  and  which,  I 
believe,  could  not  easily  be  paralleled  outside  Germany. 
1  London  :  Methuen  &  Co.,  1909. 

262 


CONCLUSION 

I  was  waiting  at  the  Friedrichstrasse  railway  station  one 
evening  in  November  1905,  to  take  the  train  to  Warsaw,  and 
being  well  before  my  time  saw  a  number  of  far- bound  trains 
arriving  and  leaving  in  quick  succession,  within  a  ew  minutes 
of  each  other.  My  inquiries  elicited  the  information  that  every 
evening  five  express  trains  start  from  the  same  platform  of 
the  Friedrichstrasse  Station  all  within  the  short  space  of  37 
minutes:  for  Posen,  10.55  p.m.;  for  Daiitzig,  11.1  p.m.;  St, 
Petersburg,  via  Koenigsberg,  11.18  p.m.;  for  Warsaw,  11.24 
P.M. ;  for  Vienna,  vid  Breslau,  11.32  p.m.  I  was  told  that  a 
similar  service  of  trains  starts  every  forenoon.  These  bald 
figures,  however,  by  no  means  convey  the  exceptional  nature  of 
this  feat  in  railway  organisation,  for  it  must  be  borne  in  mind 
that  each  of  these  trains  is  of  considerable  proportions:  a  huge 
locomotive  and  rolling  stock  equipped  for  a  long  journey 
through  the  night  with  sleeping  cars,  postal  service,  and,  in 
some  cases,  with  restaurant  cars  attached.  These  trains  are 
made  up  at  the  suburban  station  of  Charlottenburg,  and  start 
punctually  to  the  minute  on  their  journey,  as  already  stated, 
within  six  or  eight  minutes  of  each  other.  What  this  efficient 
organisation  would  mean  in  time  of  war  to  an  enemv  who 
might  be  incapable  of  meeting  it  with  one  of  equal  capacity 
may  be  left  to  the  imagination  ;  inasmuch  as  the  German  system 
of  mobilisation  provides  for  the  automatic  replacement  of  the 
time-table  in  every-day  use  by  a  military  one  in   time   of  war. 

Another,  although  a  minor,  feature  of  railway  travelling  is  the 
punctual  fitting-in  at  junctions  of  trains  where  the  traveller  has 
only  a  few  minutes,  sometime*  not  more  than  a  minute  or  two, 
to  transfer  himself  and  his  luggage  to  another  line.  Hers  only 
the  greatest  all-round  punctuality  could  produce  such  results  as 
are  obtained  in  Germany.  It  is,  of  course,  humanly  impossible 
that  cases  should  not  occur  in  which  the  connection  is  missed, 
but  I  do  not  remember  having  been  thus  disappointed.  I  was 
recently  staying  at  Plaue,  a  village  in  Thuringia,  and  wanted  to 
reach  Cologne  without  taking  the  roundabout  way,  vid  Frank- 
fort. The  direct  route  lay  vid  Cassel,  where  my  train  was 
timed  to  arrive  with  ten  minutes  to  spare,  in  order  to  catch 

263 


GERMAN    MEMORIES 

the  junction  train  to  Cologne.  Unfortunately  it  was  not 
possible  to  book  further  than  Cassel.  In  order  to  meet  the 
case  the  stationmaster  at  Plaue  volunteered  to  telegraph  to 
Cassel  to  arrange  things  for  me ;  and,  it  being  considered  a 
service  matter,  charged  me  the  nominal  sum  of  threepence  for 
the  telegram.  On  my  arrival  at  Cassel  I  saw  a  porter  on  the 
platform,  evidently  on  the  look-out,  holding  up  a  pole  on 
which  was  a  big  placard  with  the  words, "  Ticket  for  Cologne." 
I  hailed  him,  and  he  handed  me  a  railway  ticket  and  a  receipt 
for  my  luggage,  in  accordance  with  his  telegraphic  instructions. 

As  regards  the  German  postal  service  I  may  mention  that 
letters  are  delivered  twice  on  weekdays  in  every  village  through- 
out the  German  Empire  :  when  near  a  railway  station  oftener ; 
on  Sundays  and  other  holidays  at  least  once.  At  Plaue,  as  in 
many  other  German  villages,  the  post-office  is  as  large  as  one 
in  a  moderate-sized  town  in  other  countries.  Finally,  there  is 
no  time  of  the  day  or  night  at  which  a  telegram  will  not  be 
received  and  immediately  despatched. 

Prince  Bismarck's  eightieth  birthday  afforded  mean  excellent 
opportunity  of  testing  the  great  efficiency  of  the  German 
telegraph  officials.  A  wooden  shed  had  been  erected  at 
Friedrichsruh  clo«e  to  the  post-office  for  this  exceptional  occa- 
sion, with  rows  of  seats  and  desks  for  the  many  journalists  who 
had  arrived  from  all  parts.  The  staft  of  telegraph  clerks 
had  been  largely  augmented  in  proportion.  I  sent  about  two 
thousand  words  in  English  to  the  Herald,  and  they  arrived 
without  a  single  mistake.  I  feel  sure  that  the  same  was  the 
case  with  other  journalists  of  different  nationalities.  The 
work  of  the  staff  was  most  thoroughly  and  willingly  performed. 
I  handed  in  my  material  in  sections.  The  readiness  with 
which  they  were  taken  from  me,  and  carefully  scrutinised  by 
the  telegraph  clerks,  who  were  conversant  with  English,  was 
remarkable,  and  the  intelligence  and  courtesy  displayed  have 
remained  engraven  on  my  memory. 

So  much  has  been  said  of  the  uncongenial  manners  and 
methods  of  German  officialdom  that  the  following  instance  of  a 
gratuitous  act  of  courtesy  may  be  narrated  without  apology, 
264 


CONCLUSION 

the  more  so  as  it  illustrates  the  deep  interest  in  art  which  is 
prevalent  among  all  classes. 

Two  gentlemen,  one  an  old  friend  of  mine,  arrived  in 
Cologne  from  London  late  on  the  last  night  of  the  year  1897. 
They  were  timed  to  leave  Cologne  in  the  afternoon  of  the  next 
day,  and  thought  they  would  spend  the  morning  by  inspecting 
the  famous  Waliraf-Richartz  Museum,  which  contains  some 
fine  specimens  of  the  old  Cologne  school  of  painters.  They 
found  the  museum  closed.  The  hall  porter  informed  them 
that  New  Year's  Day  was  one  of  the  very  few  occasions  on 
which  the  attendants  were  allowed  a  holiday.  He  added 
that,  as  the  gentlemen  said  they  could  not  delay  their 
departure,  the  Director  (Curator)  of  the  museum  might, 
perhaps,  give  them  permission  to  view  the  pictures  if  they 
applied  to  him.  Having  obtained  his  address,  mv  friend,  who 
is  an  art  enthusiast,  wrote  a  short  note  to  Herr  Hofrath 
Professor  Carl  Aldenhoven  (since  deceased),  and  sent  it  by  a 
commissionaire  to  his  residence,  about  two  English  miles  from 
the  museum.  The  answer  came  promptly  back  :  "  Please 
expect  me  at  your  hotel.  I  will  call  upon  you  in  half  an  hour." 
The  Professor  duly  arrived,  showed  my  friends  over  the 
museum,  explained  everything  in  the  most  interesting  manner, 
and  finally  took  cordial  leave  of  them.^ 

As  a  further  indication  of  the  deep  interest  in  art  matters 
taken  by  all  classes  of  the  population,  I  may  mention  on 
the  authority  of  Professor  Aldenhoven  that  after  Mass  on 
Sundays  and  other  Roman  Catholic  holy  days,  when  many 
of  the  peasantry  of  the  surrounding  villages  stream  into 
Cologne,  the  run  on  the  picture  gallery  between  the  hours  of 
11  and  1  is  so  great  that  people  have  to  wait  their  turn  to 
obtain  admission. 

One  of  the  features  of  German  life  which  has  assisted  to 
make  Germany  what  she  is  to-day  is  the  high  esteem  in  which 

1  I  gratefully  acknowledge  herewith  a  similar  act  of  courtesy  on  the  part  of 
the  Director  of  the  Hamburg  Museum  in  the  month  of  September  1911.  He 
kindly  allowed  me  to  inspect  the  beautiful  picture  gallery  during  closed  hours, 
as  I  wa»  leaving  the  city  the  same  afternoon. 

265 


GERMAN    MEMORIES 

the  vocation  of  teaching  is  held,  Scandinavia  and  the  United 
States  coming  in  this  respect  much  nearer  to  Germany  than 
Great  Britain.  In  Russia  princes  figure  as  professors  at  uni- 
versities. I  met  at  Moscow  a  prince  of  the  great  house  of 
Troubetzkoi  who  was  professor  at  the  University  of  Kiew.  On 
one  of  my  recent  visits  to  Berlin  I  saw  an  endless  cortege  of 
mourning  carriages  and  pedestrians  filing  along  the  Hallische 
Ufer,  and  was  told  that  this  was  the  funeral  of  a  Berlin  pro- 
fessor of  philosophy  (Paulsen).  Even  more  striking  from  an 
insular  point  of  view  was  my  experience  many  years  ago,  when 
I  was  a  witness  of  a  rousing  torchlight  procession  at  Bonn  in 
celebration  of  the  twenty-fifth  year  of  service  of  a  school- 
mistress at  one  of  the  VolJcsschuleii  in  that  town.  The  Socialists 
are  ever  to  the  fore  in  participating  in  demonstrations  of  this 
kind,  which  add  an  element  of  picturesque  richness  to  the  life 
of  the  people.  In  spite  of  certain  social  and  political  dis- 
abilities, which  still  affect  a  large  section  of  the  German 
nation,  the  life  of  the  people  is  in  many  respects  far  richer 
than  with  us.  This  is  patent  in  the  wide  possibilities  of 
education  open  to  all  classes,  and  the  many  means  for  self- 
culture  provided  by  the  high  character  of  the  drama  and 
other  forms  of  popular  recreation.  Here  the  social  element 
is  of  great  importance,  as  it  enters  largely  into  the 
life  of  the  masses :  the  so-called  Vei'einsleben,  in  which 
are  included  gymnastic  societies,  choral  unions,  mountain- 
climbing,  &c.  The  Austro-German  Alpine  Club,  for 
instance,  has  a  membership  of  fifty  thousarui,  as  compared 
with  five  hundred  in  the  exclusive  English  association 
of  that  kind.  Game-shooting,  which  with  us  is  an  expen- 
sive and  aristocratic  sport  reserved  for  the  rich,  is  partici- 
pated in  by  all  classes  in  Germany.  The  number  of  game 
licences  runs  into  hundreds  of  thousands,  and  this  without 
the  stock  of  game  being  thereby  diminished,  for  the  laws  which 
regulate  close  time  are  strictly  adhered  to,  and  if  transgressed 
severe  punishment  is  inflicted.  All  these  features  of  German 
life  contribute  towards  the  cultivation  of  the  imagination  of 
the  people,  abundant  evidence  of  which  is  to  be  gained  by  those 


CONCLUSION 

who  have  associated  with  and  taken  note  of  their  social  life. 
Many  are  the  instances  of  kindly  consideration  I  recall  be- 
speaking a  high  degree  of  cultivation  of  the  heart  and  delicacy 
of  feeling  among  the  masses,  of  which  the  following  instance — 
one  of  many — strikes  me  as  worthy  of  record. 

One  summer  morning,  walking  with  a  friend  in    Berlin,  I 
hailed  a  droschky  of  the  first  class — what  we  should  call  a 
"  victoria,''"'  such  as  can  be  got  for  hire  in  the  streets  of  Berlin, 
and,  to  my  thinking,  the  most  comfortable  conveyance  to  be 
met  witli  anywhere — and  told  the  man  to  drive  us  to  the  Donhoff 
Plat/.     There  my  friend  alighted,  and  asked  me  to  wait  in  the 
carriage  for  him  whilst  he  paid  a  short  call  at  a  house  in  front 
of  which  we  halted.     To  my  surprise  the  coachman  drove  to  the 
opposite  side  of  the  road,  where  he  drew   up  as  I  thought  to 
get  clear  of  the  traffic.     In  a  couple  of  minutes  he  drove  back 
again  and  stopped  at  the  exact  spot  at  which   my  friend  had 
got  out.     This  rather  puzzled  me,  so   I  asked  what  made  him 
drive  to  the  other  side  of  the  road  and  then  come  back.     "  Oh, 
sir,"  he  replied,  "■  I  noticed  that  you  had  the  sun  in  your  eyes 
over  there !  '^      It   is,   I    admit,  a   trifling    incident,    but    one 
which  speaks  eloquently  for  the  culture  of  that  particular  class. 
I  have  yet  to  meet  the  London  cabman,  however  civil  he  might 
be,  who  would  trouble  about  his  fare  being  inconvenienced  by 
the  sun. 

The  high  standing  enjoyed  by  every  branch  of  science  in 
Germany  is  generally  recognised.  Thus  the  medical  profession 
is  held  in  great  esteem  everywhere,  except,  strange  to  say,  in  the 
army,  where  it  should  by  rights  stand  highest.  Surgeons  were 
in  great  repute  in  the  armies  of  Napoleon,  and  were  treated 
with  exceptional  consideration  by  that  great  soldier.  Royal 
Princes — the  eminent  oculist,  Duke  Karl  Theodor  of  Bavaria, 
and  his  wife  to  wit — devote  themselves  to  the  profession  of 
medicine,  mainly  for  the  benefit  of  the  poor,  and  Royal 
Princesses  become  nurses  in  wartime,  as  I  have  already  pointed 
out  in  the  case  of  the  present  Queen  of  Bulgaria.  It  is  not  the 
famous  practitioner  making  a  large  income,  a  type  very  much 
in  evidence  of  late  in  Berlin,  who  is  most  highly  thought  of. 

267 


GERMAN    MEMORIES 

He  is  often  regarded  as  a  mere  Mode-Arzt^  a  fashionable 
doctor — the  term  implyit;g  a  certain  stigma,  depreciation,  and 
declension  from  the  high  plane  of  science  for  its  own  sake. 
The  fact  of  being  body  physician  to  the  Sovereign,  which 
ensures  a  great  private  practice  in  England,  by  no  means 
does  the  same  in  Germany. 

To  the  honour  of  the  German  medical  profession  be  it  said 
that,  at  least  until  recently,  the  sense  of  duty  of  its  members  to 
their  patients  was  singularly  independent  of  the  scale  of  emolu- 
ment or  other  worldly  considerations  received.  In  the  winter 
of  1876-7  the  present  Dowager  Queen  of  Sweden  went  to 
Heidelberg,  and  stayed  there  some  weeks  to  undergo  treatment 
at  the  hands  of  Professor  Friedreich,  of  the  University.  I 
remember  that  the  Professor  made  a  point  of  attending  to  all 
his  official  duties,  including  his  poor  patients  in  the  infirmary, 
before  he  paid  his  daily  visit  to  the  Queen. 

Within  more  recent  years  an  English  duchess  went  to  Wies- 
baden to  consult  Dr.  Pagenstecher.  The  great  oculist  declared 
that  he  could  only  undertake  the  treatment  of  her  grace  if  she 
lived  in  his  "  klinik,"  and  boarded  there  with  his  other  patients. 
I  am  told  that  this  new  experience  of  a  free-and-easy  inter- 
course with  her  fellow  creatures  of  modest  circumstances  did  the 
old  lady  a  world  of  good  and  contributed  to  her  recovery.  As 
an  instance  of  the  appreciation  of  the  medical  profession  by 
German  ladies  of  high  rank,  the  case  of  the  marriage  of  a 
Princess  of  Schleswig-Holstein  to  Professor  Esmaich  comes  to 
mind.  But  even  more  apposite  is  that  of  a  Wurtemberg 
Princess  who  married  a  doctor  in  Breslau  about  thirty  years  ago. 
The  clergyman  officiating  at  the  wedding  proceeded  to  dwell  on 
the  deep  and  unselfish  nature  of  an  affection  which  could 
induce  a  princess  to  sacrifice  the  advantages  of  high  rank  and 
luxury  at  the  altar.  The  bride  interposed,  and,  rising  before  the 
congregation,  said  she  could  not  allow  such  a  statement  to  pass 
unchallenged.  She  desired  to  affirm  once  and  for  all  that,  in 
marrying  the  man  of  her  choice,  she  was  not  conscious  of  having 
surrendered  anything  to  which  she  attached  the  slightest 
importance.  Her  husband,  far  from  gaining  social  prestige  by 
268 


CONCT.USION 

his  "  great  "  marriage,  is  said  to  have  rather  lost  caste  among  his 
colleagues  for  having  married  out  of  his  sphere. 

The  medical  man  who,  without  prospect  of  affluence,  is  the 
trusted  family  medical  adviser,  calls  for  special  recognition. 
Here  sometimes  under  a  rough  exterior — for  many  German 
doctors  rise  from  humble  conditions,  in  which  they  have  had 
scant  opportunity  for  acquiring  that  tact  and  social  polish 
which  are  requisites  in  their  vocation — a  high  average  and  often 
great  scientific  attainments  are  found,  with  an  unselfish  devotion 
to  duty  which  is  truly  admirable,  the  feeling  of  the  responsibility 
of  their  calling  dominating  every  other  consideration.  Cases  have 
come  under  my  notice  in  which  the  family  doctor  has  cheerfully 
foregone  his  annual  holiday  in  order  to  attend  a  patient,  and  by 
no  means  a  wealthy  one,  whom  he  feared  might  suffer  by  his 
absence.  Such  men  obtain  their  best  reward  in  the  confidence 
and  gratitude  of  their  patients,  for  even  in  cases  of  serious 
illness  it  has  been  hitherto  unusual  for  Germans  to  desert  their 
family  doctor  and  call  in  a  specialist. 

Such  men  as  Langenbeck,  Virchow,  Czerny,  and  many  others 
whose  names  are  household  words  in  medical  science,  neither 
make  as  much  money  as  similar  men  in  England,  nor  are  they 
awarded  the  honours  and  titles  by  their  Sovereign  which  a 
successful  man  in  almost  every  walk  of  life  can  apparently 
command  with  us.  In  Germany  their  appreciation  is  that  of 
their  fellow  countrymen,  which  many  regard  as  far  more 
valuable.  In  spite  of  the  widespread  craving  for  decorations 
and  the  outward  deference  to  jacks-in-office,  men  of  science 
and  learning  maintain  an  independent  position,  and  resent 
attempts  at  social  patronage.  A  printed  invitation  "  to  meet ""  a 
prince,  quite  a  compliment  with  us,  would  be  regarded  by  men 
of  intellectual  standing  as  little  short  of  an  impertinence. 
"  Let  him  be  invited  to  meet  me "  would  probably  be  the 
mental  attitude  of  the  professor.  That  this  independence  of 
the  "  intellectual "  sometimes  tends  to  arrogance  cannot  well  be 
doubted  ;  but  there  it  is.  The  feeling  of  reverence  which  a 
peer,  or  an  ambassador,  used  to  inspire  in  Mr.  Gladstone 
would  be  difficult  to  find  among  the  "  intellectuals  "  in  Germany. 

269 


GERMAN    MEMORIES 

It  would  be  impossible  to  imagine  a  Helmholtz,  a  Mommsen, 
or  a  Herman  Grimm  "  introduced  "  to  an  audience  at  a  public 
lecture  by  a  peer  acting  as  chairman.  The  highest  in  the 
land  are  eligible  as  members  of  the  Reichstag,  and  some  few 
of  them  are  indeed  now  and  then  chosen — for  instance,  Prince 
Henry  Carolath  Schoenaich — but  not  one  man  of  title  is 
included  to-day  among  the  figureheads  of  that  body.  The 
late  Herr  Krupp  did  not  succeed  in  being  elected  in  his 
own  constituency,  where  about  30,000  of  his  workmen  are 
among  the  electors.  Even  eminent  ex-Ministers  have  the  greatest 
difficulty  in  finding  a  constituency  willing  to  elect  them ; 
this  in  itself  is  a  decided  loss  to  public  life.  Reverence 
for  wealth,  birth,  and  rank  is  almost  confined  to  those  who 
possess  them,  and  is  not  always  to  be  found  even  there. 
Indeed,  there  is  very  little  of  it  to  be  met  with  among  the 
mass  of  the  German  people,  and  this  holds  good  in  spite  of 
the  craving  for  titles  and  ornamental  distinctions  of  a  large 
section  of  German  society.  The  caste  feeling  which  exists 
among  the  nobility,  finds,  under  the  present  regime,  a 
powerful  support  in  the  army  and  at  two  or  three  universities, 
and  only  tends  to  intensify  the  cleavage  between  the  upper 
classes  and  the  rest  of  the  population — the  intellectual  elitef 
bourgeoisie  and  Socialists.  In  proof  of  this  assertion,  which  may 
come  as  a  surprise  to  the  superficial  observer,  I  may  cite  the 
authority  of  Paul  de  Lagarde,  who  declared  thirty  years  ago 
that  the  nobility — except  the  sovereign  princes — counts  for 
little  in  Germany. 

In  September  1901,  I  was  invited  to  take  part  in  the  trial 
trip  of  the  Bremen  Lloyd  steamer,  Kronprinz  Wilhelm,  to 
Norway  and  Scotland,  in  which  over  350  German  notabilities 
participated.  Instead,  as  would  have  been  the  case  with  us, 
of  the  "  big  guns  "  dining  at  one  centre  table,  and  the  "  small 
fry""  being  accommodated  with  inferior  places  at  dinner,  lots 
for  seats  at  table  were  drawn  every  day.  Thus  it  came  to  pass 
that  Herr  Krupp,  the  "  heaviest "  rich  man  of  Germany,  and 
Prince  Henckel  Donnersmarck,  another  of  the  wealthiest  men 
and  an  old  feudal  noble  to  boot,  came  to  sit  with  nobodies. 
270 


CONCLUSION 

Can  we  imagine  Andrew  Carnegie  or  a  Duke  of  Devonshire 
being  placed  in  a  similar  predicament  by  an  English  steamship 
company  ? 

In  sharp  contrast  to  the  worship  of  wealth  and  position  a 
feeling  is  growing  among  German  womanhood  that  an  existence 
of  ease  and  luxury,  without  a  serious  aim  in  life,  is  an  unworthy 
one.     This   sentiment    was    tragically  exemplified  in  the  case 
of  a  friend  of  mine.     He  had  studied  law  and  entered  upon 
a  diplomatic  career,  when  he  met  a  lady  of  rare  beauty  with 
a   large   fortune  and   married   her.      The   first   year  of  their 
marriage  was  one  long  honeymoon,  spent  in  travel ;  now  and 
then  marked  by  the  young  wife  urging  her  husband  to  take 
up   some   serious   occupation ;    for   he   had   retired   from   the 
diplomatic  service  on  his  marriage.     A  highly  cultivated  man 
with  literary  tastes,  his  wife  was  anxious  that  he  should  turn 
these  to  account.     They  ultimately  settled  down  in  a  beautiful 
villa  which  she  had  acquired.     Some  time  afterwards  he  met 
a  friend  of  his  youth,  a  struggling  sculptor,   without  means 
or   connections.      Being   of  a   generous   disposition,   he    built 
a  studio  expressly  for  him  in  the  garden  adjoining  his  villa,  so 
that  he  should  be  at  liberty  to  work  at  his  profession  free  from 
care.     But  he  was  not  equally  fortunate  in  finding  an  occu- 
pation   for    himself,    and    prevailed    upon    his    wife   to    start 
travelling    again,    in    spite    of    her    recurrent    exhortations. 
Another  couple  of  years  passed    by,  when  they  returned    to 
their  villa,  where  they  found  the  sculptor  hard  at  work.     One 
day  his  wife  said  to  him  :  "  You  know  how  often  I  have  urged 
you  to  take  up  an  occupation  worthy  of  you,  for  I  cannot 
imagine   either   happiness,  or  indeed   self-respect,  in  idleness. 
You  have  not  listened  to  me,  and  it  is  now   too  late ;  for  I 
take  an  interest  in  your  friend ;  he  has  gained  my  respect  and 
supplanted  you  in  my  affections.     Take  half  my  fortune  and 
let  me  be  free  to  marry  him." 

This  came  as  a  thunderbolt  to  my  friend.  He  was  in  despair, 
for  he  was  devotedly  attached  to  his  wife,  and  he  implored 
her  to  reconsider  her  decision.  But  there  was  no  going  back. 
He  indignantly  declined  his  wife's  offer  of  her  fortune ;  but, 

271 


GERMAN    MEIM  OKIES 

according  to  the  German  law  a  divorce  was  possible,  and  it 
was  obtained.  She  left  him,  married  the  sculptor,  and  went 
away  for  ever.  Many  years  later  I  met  my  friend  again.  He 
had  made  a  literary  reputation,  and  lived  in  the  very  same 
studio  which  he  had  once  generously  placed  at  the  disposal 
of  his  sculptor  friend.  Not  a  word  passed  his  lips  of  the 
tragedy  of  his  life  ;  but  the  portrait  of  his  beautiful  dark-eyed 
wife  looked  down  from  the  wall — as  it  seemed  to  me — in  pity 
on  his  solitude — his  wrecked  happiness  ! 

A  glance  at  the  German  book  trade — more  particularly  the 
many  publishers  and  booksellers,  and  the  high  standing  of 
the  best  among  them — throws  an  instructive  light  on  the 
omnivorous  appetite  for  reading  which  exists  among  the  Ger- 
man people  of  all  classes.  Their  business  places  are  the  resort 
of  literary  notabilities,  as  a  few  such  were  in  London  and 
Edinburgh  in  the  eighteenth  century.  Scientific  works  which 
in  England  can  only  be  issued  with  the  financial  assistance 
of  learned  societies  are  nearly  all  brought  out  in  Germany 
at  the  sole  risk  and  expense  of  the  publishers  in  Leipsic, 
Berlin,  Stuttgart,  and  Munich,  each  of  which  cities  is  promi- 
nent in  the  order  mentioned.  The  history  of  the  leading 
publishing  firms  in  Germany  is  set  forth  in  the  great  national 
encyclopaedias  as  matter  of  public  interest,  while  many  names 
of  ministers  and  diplomatists  and  noble  families  of  the  country 
are  not  mentioned,  unless  in  the  cases  of  some  exceptionally 
eminent  men. 

It  is  not  exaggerating  to  say  that  the  appetite  for  reading 
matter  among  the  German  people  is  scarcely  less  keen  than 
that  for  eating  and  drinking.  Here  the  Socialists,  as  in  several 
other  respects,  are  foremost.  In  a  recent  number  of  the 
Vorwdrts  I  saw  it  stated  that  the  aims  of  the  Socialists  were 
not  so  much  concerned  with  the  acquisition  of  more  wages, 
material  benefits,  as  such,  as  with  obtaining  the  means  of 
beautifying  the  life  of  the  people  by  enlarging  their  oppor- 
tunities for  self-culture.  The  best  of  them  have  adopted 
Spinoza's  axiom  :  "  I  sell  the  work  of  my  hands  ;  but  I  keep 
the  product  of  my  brain  to  myself."  They  want  that  "place 
^72 


CONCLUSION 

in  the  sun  "  in  their  own  country  which  the  German  \\  ell-to-do 
class  is  clamouring  for  in  distant  parts  of  the  world. 

The  catalogue  of  books  published  by  the  bookseller's  firm 
connected  with  the  Vorwdrts,  and  appealing  almost  entirely 
to  the  working  classes,  is  a  surprising  one.  It  embraces  a 
cosmopolitan  selection  of  the  best  works  on  history,  political 
economy  and  belles-lettres  of  all  countries ;  some  of  them  are 
expensive  publications,  the  titles  of  which  are  suggestive  : 

M,  Maurenbrecher  :  "  The  Hohenzollern  Legend,"" 

in  50  parts  (complete)  14/- 

Inama    Sternegg :    "  German   Agriculture    and 

Husbandry"  £2  10/- 

Conrady  :  "  History  of  Revolutions  "  10/- 

Sven  Hedin  :  "  Travels  in  the  East "  ^1 

Year-Books  dealing  with  Communal  Affairs     15/-  to  20/- 

each. 

Nearly  two  pages  each  are  devoted  to  different  publications 
dealing  with  Ferdinand  Lassalle  and  Karl  Marx.  The  same 
space  is  taken  up  by  the  list  of  writings  of  Bebel,  of  Kautsky, 
and  of  Bernstein,  some  of  which  are  pamphlets  circulating  by  the 
hundred  thousand.  The  catalogue  contains  the  names  of  close 
upon  four  hundred  authors,  many  English  among  them  :  Burns, 
Dickens,  Kipling,  Tyndall,  W.  Ashley,  Henry  George,  Bellamy, 
T.  H.  Buckle,  Sir  Charles  Lyell,  Thorold  Rogers,  Sir  Samuel 
Baker,  Kennan,  Henry  Lansdell,  Adam  Smith,  Ricardo,  John 
Stuart  Mill,  Lecky,  James  Bryce,  Sidney  Webb,  &:c.  (A  specialty 
of  the  same  firm  are  well-selected  art  productions  for  the 
ornamentation  of  the  homes  of  the  people.)  These  names  in 
themselves  offer  suggestive  evidence  that  Social  Democracy  is 
no  mere  negative  movement,  but  one  with  which  a  great  deal 
of  the  idealism  of  the  German  race  must  henceforth  be 
identified. 

An  illusion  largely  shared  in  Germany  itself  is  that  her 
material  prosperity  is  a  direct  outcome  of  the  military  successes 
of  1866  and  1870  and  her  subsequent  unification.  As  a  matter 
of  fact.  Imperialism  has  had  little  to  do  with  the  commercial 

s  273 


GERMAN    MEMORIES 

and  industrial  rise  of  Germany.  Of  late  it  has  even  gratuitously 
fostered  trade  jealousies  and  other  idiosyncrasies  of  a  mis- 
chievous kind.  Favouritism  in  high  places  has  been  the  means 
of  pitchforking  unsuitable  elements  on  to  the  boards  of  banks 
and  great  industrial  concerns,  instances  of  which  are  of  common 
knowledge  in  German  business  circles. 

Many  years"*  connection  with  German  manufacturing  life 
have  convinced  me  that,  though  the  Empire  may  have 
supplied  an  effective  trade  "  label,"  the  real  source  of  growth 
has  been  the  inevitable  outcome  of  modern  economical  develop- 
ments of  Europe  as  a  whole  taken  advantage  of,  in  spite  of 
tariff  walls  and  heavy  taxation,  by  the  industrious  qualities 
of  the  race  fostered  by  a  century  of  education  and  careful 
industrial  training.  This  is  indirectly  shown  by  the  fact  that 
small  states  like  Belgium  and  Switzerland  and  some  parts  of 
Northern  Italy  have  made  even  greater  strides  than  some 
sections  of  Imperial  Germany ;  whilst  little,  democratic  Den- 
mark has  become  one  of  the  leading  agricultural  producers 
of  the  world.  The  expansion  of  the  German  mercantile  navy, 
for  instance,  with  the  rise  of  Hamburg,  finds  a  parallel  in 
Belgium  in  the  case  of  Antwerp,  and  both  are  directly  trace- 
able to  the  material  renaissance  of  Europe  as  a  whole. 

Another  feature  which  has  contributed  to  German  industrial 
expansion,  which  is  rarely  taken  into  serious  account,  with- 
out which,  however,  it  would  have  been  impossible,  is  the 
assistance  the  banks  all  over  Germany  and  also  in  Austria  have 
been  to  beginners  in  trade  and  manufactures.  Here  again  intelli- 
gent enterprise,  shrewdness,  energy,  and  the  careful  apprai:?ing 
of  the  chances  of  success  of  the  manufacturer  of  small  means  but 
of  known  integrity  have  had  great  results.  The  investment 
of  money  earned  and  saved  is  a  special  branch  of  German 
banking  business,  and,  as  a  rule,  it  is  attended  to  with  great 
conscientiousness  and  a  deep  sense  of  its  responsibility.  Where 
we  are  inclined  to  run  after  "booms"  and  speculate,  the  small 
German  capitalist  rarely  invests  his  savings  without  consultinjj 
his  banker;  with  what  results  is  strikingly  evidenced  by  th3 
vast  amount  of  sound  investments  held  by  the  large  mass  of 
274 


CONCLUSION 

the  people.  It  is  believed  on  the  Continent  that  nothing  is 
easier  to  obtain  in  wealthy  Ent^land  than  money.  It  may 
be  easy  for  the  astute  company  promoter,  but  nowhere  is  it 
more  difficult  for  a  business  man  without  ample  means  or  unless 
in  a  large  way  of  business  to  obtain  credit,  whatever  be  his 
reputation  for  honesty.  The  facilities  given  to  people  of  small 
means  but  good  reputation  for  obtaining  credit  from  their 
bankers  are  much  greater  in  Germany  than  with  us.  In 
Germany  the  energetic  beginner  often  finds  it  so  easy  to  obtain 
support  from  a  banker  that  this  is  looked  upon  as  quite  a 
secondary  consideration  ;  the  principal  thing  is  to  get  orders  and 
to  deliver  the  goods :  Geld  ist  Nebensache  (money  is  a  secondary 
matter).  It  is  a  well-known  fact  that  German  competition  in 
the  English  colonies  and  also  in  South  America,  in  Turkey, 
and  in  Egypt  is  intensified  by  the  readiness  of  German  traders 
to  crive  extensions  of  credit  which  are  unheard  of  in  England. 
Added  to  this  readiness  to  give  credit  must  be  placed  a 
genius  for  taking  pains  over  the  smallest  chance  of  doing  busi- 
ness. This  is  shown  in  trifles ;  for  instance,  in  the  stationery 
business,  in  which  we  were  once  superior  and  are  now  most 
conservative,  whilst  in  Germany  novelties  are  continually  being- 
brought  out.  The  spirit  of  enterprise  is  exemplified  by  the 
readiness  to  take  up  a  new  idea.  The  Germans  have  become 
almost  Americanised  in  this  direction,  but  their  enterprise  is 
allied  to  extraordinary  caution ;  for  the  leading  banks,  with 
all  their  eagerness  to  support  commerce  and  industry,  have 
a  staff"  of  expert  advisers  at  their  disposal  ever  ready  to  look 
into  new  proposals  and  to  detect  folly  and  fraud. 

Germany  is  passing  through  a  period  of  transition,  portending 
changes  of  perhaps  greater  magnitude  than  any  which  have 
taken  place  in  our  time.  The  fact  that  the  signs  thereof  are 
not  patent  to  outsiders  is  explained  by  two  causes  :  the  one 
inherent  in  the  surface  impressionism  of  our  age,  of  which  the 
daily  newspaper  is  the  faithful  mirror ;  the  other  the  blinding 
prestige  of  the  military  successes  of  1870  which  still  hypnotises 
Europe,  Germany  included.  It  is  not  easy  to  detect  the  elusive 
signs  of  an  evolution  which  may  take  a  hundred  and  fifty  years  or 

275 


GERMAN    MEMORIES 

more  to  materialise,  but  the  inevitability  of  which  is  foreshadowed 
in  the  unreality  of  the  present  and  the  great  changes  which  have 
already  taken  place  within  one  generation.  Only  twenty-two 
years  have  passed  since  Bismarck  retired,  and  it  is  generally 
adinitted  that  were  his  methods  revived  they  would  not  suffice 
to  grapple  with  Germany's  inner  problems. 

Many  believe  that  Germany  is  on  the  verge  of  developments 
which  can  only  be  compared  in  their  importance  to  the  Reforma- 
tion ;  and  we  know  that  over  a  hundred  and  thirty  years  elapsed 
between  the  day  when  Luther  fixed  his  ninety- five  theses  to 
the  door  of  the  Castle  Church  of  Wittenberg  (1517)  and  the 
Peace  of  Westphalia  (1648),  which  first  guaranteed  liberty  of 
thought  on  the  Continent  of  Europe. 

Progress  in  the  world  of  ideas  is  gradual  and  takes  time 
to  shape  itself.  As  an  old  German  professor  once  said  to 
me  when  estimating  things  in  a  critical  spirit,  "  I  give  the 
Roman  Catholic  Church  another  four  hundred  years." 

The  conservative  social  instincts  of  the  French  nation,  which 
have  done  so  much  to  keep  the  French  family  and  the  faith  of 
the  country  as  a  whole  comparatively  unchanged,  in  spite  of  the 
Revolution,  are  lacking  in  Germany.  The  veneration  for  the 
aristocracy,  that  potent  support  of  monarchy  with  which  we 
are  so  familiar  in  England,  scarcely  exists  in  Germany.  Mon- 
archical feeling,  after  rising  under  William  I.  to  a  height  out  of 
proportion  to  its  previous  traditions  and  status^  is  now  again 
declining  and  is  without  that  strong  spiritual  and  mundane 
support  of  other  days.  At  most  that  time-honoured  attach- 
ment of  the  German  tribes  to  their  several  ducal  chieftains, 
some  of  them  since  dubbed  kings  by  Habsburg  or  Napoleonic 
grace,  may  be  expected  to  survive.  How  little  this  is  realised 
in  England  is  shown  by  the  exaggerated  interest  taken  in  the 
every-day  doings  of  personages  in  high  places,  which  finds  little 
echo  either  in  the  instincts  of  the  German  intellectual  elite 
or  with  the  Socialistic  or  Roman  Catholic  masses.  August 
personages  are  not  even  referred  to  in  Socialist  newspapers 
in  the  whole  course  of  the  year.  On  the  one  hand  we  see 
sundry  survivals  of  the  spirit  of  the  Middle  Ages  in  out-of- 
^76 


CONCLUSION 

the-way  places,  and  a  portion  of  the  community  living  on  from 
day  to  day  on  imaginary  values,  whilst  there  are  increasing 
influences  which  are  intent  on  abolishing  these  anachronisms. 

The  glamour  of  martial  prowess  and  the  power  of  intimida- 
tion which  are  its  inevitable  corollary  have  for  the  time  being 
eclipsed  the  development  of  the  individual,  which  had  been 
steadily  growing  after  the  revolutionary  year  of  1848,  but 
they  have  not  been  able  to  terrorise  the  Roman  Catholic  and 
the  Socialist  elements.  Nothing  could  be  more  absurd  than 
the  prevalent  illusion  in  England  that,  because  the  activity 
of  the  Socialists  does  not  aft'ord  daily  material  for  sensational 
telegrams  from  the  "Special  Correspondent,"  Socialism  is 
impotent,  passive,  or  inactive.  Quite  the  contrary  is  the  fact. 
Socialism  is  energetically  active,  and,  often  working  in  sym- 
pathy with  the  Catholic  party,  already  exercises  an  immense 
influence  on  social  legislation,  and  is  superbly  indifferent  to  the 
ephemera  of  the  day.  It  is  bent  on  restoring  and  enhancing 
the  moral  and  intellectual  worth  of  the  individual,  but  as  part 
of  a  collective  mass  consciousness  on  democratic  Pantheistic 
lines.  These  elements  possess  the  power  to  achieve  this;  for 
they  alone  are  not  to  be  intimidated,  being  immune  from  fear, 
and  both  are  in  deadly  antagonism  to  the  simulacra  of  the 
present  day,  the  Roman  Catholics  adding  their  traditional 
deadly  weapon  of  dissimulation  to  their  arsenal  of  political 
fence.  Features  of  great  importance  on  the  side  of  these  forces 
of  progress  are  those  of  education,  particularly  the  training 
of  the  army,  which  has  not  only  raised  the  pugnacity  of  the 
masses,  but  also  added  to  their  collective  force  by  means  of 
organisation.  The  capacity  for  organisation,  which  was  origin- 
ally fostered  in  the  interest  of  the  state  for  the  furtherance  of 
national  defence,  is  now  being  turned  by  the  people  against 
those  with  whom  they  disagree.  The  lack  of  constructive 
political  ability,  with  its  genius  for  compromise,  which  has 
hitherto  marked  the  German  race,  is  likely  to  be  compensated 
by  the  organisation  of  the  educated,  ably-led  masses.  Now 
that  they  are  cognisant  of  their  power,  this  capacity  for  col- 
lective disciplined  action  is  bound  to  remain  permanently  with 

^77 


GERAJAN    MEMORIES 

them  and  be  an  efficient  weapon  in  their  hands,  even  though 
they  should,  as  every  growing  movement  has  done,  change 
their  aims  and  ideals  fiom  time  to  time. 

In  addition  to  this  chaotic  state  of  things  there  is  the 
difticulty  which  the  German  race  experiences  to  hold  its  own 
against  the  Pole,  the  Dane,  the  Slav,  and  the  Italian  to  be 
taken  into  account.  Germany  is,  indeed,  passing  through  an 
initial  period  of  expectancy,  of  probation,  in  which  the  slag, 
the  dross,  the  after-birth  of  the  Empire  are  disagreeably 
prominent.  To  have  chosen  such  a  moment  to  provoke  the 
antagonism  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  by  deliberately  and  demon- 
stratively building  a  huge  fleet  was,  of  course,  quite  within 
Germany's  right.  Whether  it  was  necessary  for  her  honour 
or  her  safety,  or  otherwise  to  her  advantage,  is  another  matter, 
and  only  concerns  themselves.  To  the  writer  it  would  seem  to 
be  one  of  those  fateful  happenings  in  the  destiny  of  the  German 
race  of  which  its  history  affords  so  many  pregnant  instances. 

In  the  very  week  in  which  Bismarck  died  (July  30,  1898) 
I  received  the  following  letter  from  that  eminent  divine,  the 
late  Dr.  Mandell  Creighton,  Bishop  of  London.  It  refers  more 
especially  to  the  relations  between  England  and  the  United 
States,  but  its  spirit  is  equally  applicable  to  England  and 
Germany  to-day : 

"  The  future  will  not  be  so  nmch  concerned  with  nations  as 
with  the  civilising  ideas  which  they  contribute  to  the  world's 
progress.  The  question  for  us  is,  what  will  be  the  future  of 
the  civilising  ideas  which  are  common  to  English-speaking 
peoples  ?  Local  forms  and  modifications  are  of  little  moment. 
The  important  thing  is  the  value  of  the  ideas  themselves. 
England  and  the  United  States  have  a  common  heritage  of 
primary  principles,  which  mark  them  off'  from  other  peoples. 
They  are,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  indissolubly  united.  Proposals 
of  closer  friendship  merely  recognise  this  fact.  Two  peoples 
can  help  one  another  to  understand  better  the  principles  which 
they  already  possess  in  common  and  apply  them  more  freely  to 
new  questions  as  they  arise. 

"Botli  peoples  must  acquire  greater  sympathy,  greater 
278 


CONCLUSION 

versatility,  if  they  are  to  extend  their  civilising  power.  These 
are  qualities  which  they  can  teach  one  another.  The  future  of 
the  world  depends  upon  good  understanding  between  England 
and  the  United  States.  If  they  cannot  teach  one  another  how 
are  they  to  teach  other  peoples  ?  " 

In  the  meantime  the  jealousies  and  dissensions  of  the  two 
great  nations  of  Germanic  blood  are  rejoicing  the  hearts  of  the 
Latin  and  the  Slav.  Here  the  hope  of  the  future  must  lie  in 
the  political  emancipation  of  the  German  people,  which,  once  it 
comes  into  its  own,  will  be  in  a  position  to  command  attention 
and  cry  a  halt  :  "  A  plague  on  both  your  houses !  " 

In  every  case  it  should  be  impossible  for  an  Englishman 
possessing  a  lifelong  acquaintance  with  the  many  admirable 
features  of  German  life,  added  to  the  conviction  of  the  natural 
affinity  of  interests  between  the  two  nations,  not  to  wish  to  see 
them  allied  in  pursuit  of  some  ennobling  object.  This  community 
of  ideas  and  action  was  exemplified  for  the  last  time  during  the 
KuUurkampf  to  which  I  have  already  referred.  Let  us  hope 
that  its  next  aim  will  be  to  join  hands  in  fighting  national 
prejudices,  hallucinations,  ignorance,  dirt,  destitution,  and 
disease.  Each  nation  should  take  its  part  in  the  common  task 
to  make  this  world  somewhat  more  like  what  it  might  become 
for  the  maj  ority  of  mankind.  The  German  people  seems  destined 
to  play  a  leading  part  in  this  direction ;  and  its  triumph 
would  point  to  a  peaceable  evolution  of  ideas  in  lieu  of  war  and 
revolution  brought  about  by  physical  force. 


279 


INDEX 


Albert  Verein  institution,  44 

Aldenhoven,  Prof.  Carl,  265 

"  Allotria,"  the,  151-2 

Annaberg,   shrine,  85  ;    monastery  of 

St.  Francis,  86 
Arendt,  Dr.,  parliamentarian,  108 
Army,  the,  155-8 ;  Blumenthal's  views 

on,  165-7;  general  remarks,  253-5  ; 

some  reminiscences,  255-9 
Arnim,  Count  Henry,  226 
Augusta,  Empress,  18 


Bdrenhduter,  Der,  first  performance 
at  Munich,  147-8 

Bebel,  Herr,  socialist  leader,  234-6 

Bebel,  August,  poet,  237  (note) 

Beethoven,  anecdote  of,  247 

Berlepsch,  Herr  von.  Minister  of  Com- 
merce, 108 

Bethusy-Huc,  family,  80;  visit  to, 
255-(5 

Beust,   Herr  von,  Saxon  Minister  of 
Foreign  Affairs,  24-5,  30 
anecdote  from  his3iemo!r«,  23  (wrt^e) 

Beuthen,  town,  82 

Bezzenberger,  Prof.  Dr.,  14 

BibUothehar,  Der,  89 

Bieberstein,  Freiherr  Marschall  vgn, 
244-6 

Bismarck,  Prince,  116-126  ;  at  school, 
3  ;  the  Kulturkampf,  42-;  and  fores- 
ters, 74  ;  personal  appearance,  117- 
8  ;  as  public  speaker,  119  ;'  in 
retirement,  121-4  ;  attitude  towards 
England,  125;  and  Napoleon  III., 
101-2;  writing-table  of,  213;  on 
future  of  Europe,  214-6;  and  Count 
Arnim,  217  ;  and  Rottenburg,  223- 
4;  and  Holstein,  230-1;  anecdote 
of,  243 

Bismarck,  Count  Herbert,  127,  243 

Bjoernstjerne-Bjoernson,  146,  207 

Bloch,  Felix,  90,  96 

Blochmann,  Carl  Justus,  2,  14 


Blumenthal,    Field  -  Marshal    Count 
Leonhard  von,  153-168;    anecdote 
of,  154  ;   military  training,  154-8  ; 
marriage,  158 ;   and   revolution   in 
Berlin,  159 ;  campaign  of  Bohemia, 
161;   intercepted  letter,  161  ;  and 
Crown  Prince,  161-3;  on  Moltke, 
165;  views  on  military  aflfairs,  165-7; 
personal  description,  167;  an  appre- 
ciation of,  168 
Blumenthal,  Oscar,  90 
Bodelschwingh,  Herr  von,  philanthro- 
pist, 108 
Boecklin,  painter,  22 
Boguslawski,  General  von,  258 
Bon,  Gustave  le  (quoted),  129 
Botticher,  Herr  von,  Prussian  Minister 

of  State,  108,  115 
Brentano,  Prof.  Lujo,  240-1 
Bulow,    Prince,    209-222  ;     personal 
appearance,     211  ;     on     European 
affairs,   214-6 ;    anecdote    of    Bis- 
marck,  217  ;   on   distrust  between 
England  and  Germany,  217-8  ;  on 
Germany,     219-21  ;     on     Russian 
affairs,  221 
Bunsen,  Baron  Georg  von,  106 
Biirde-Nev,  Fran,  operatic  actress,  57 
Burt,  Col."  Henry  von,  97,  114 

Cabmen  Sylva,  170,  174 

Charles  of  Roumania,  Kin?,  169-176  ; 
on  Bismarck,  120  (^mte);  Beminig- 
cences,  169  ;  in  private  life,  170-4 

Cranach,  Herr  von,  208 

Creighton.  Dr.  Mandell  (quoted),  278 

Currency,  21 

Dawison,  Bogumil,  30 
Deichmann,  Baroness,  116 
Delbrueck,   Prof.  Hans,  106-7.    178; 

anecdote,  18 
Devrient,  Emil,  29,  56 
Dincklage,  Freiherr  von,  150 
Donnersmarck, Prince  Henckel  von,  75 

281 


I  N  D  E  X 


Dorn,  Leo,  52 

Donjrlas,  Count  SIioUo,  106,  lu8 

Drei-Kaiseieckc,  SI 

Dresden,  after  1S70,  40-59;  Court 
Theatre,  26  ;  Society,  49 ;  Hotel 
Stadt  Berlin,  50-3  ;  the  Kneipen- 
leben,  55-7;  art  colony,  56-8 

Ducat,  Austrian,  21 

Duelling,  77,  79 

ECKSTADT,    Count   Alexander   Vita- 

thum  von,  166  note 
Edward  VIT.,  King,  anecdote,  205 
Eleonore,  Taaritsa  of  the  Bulgarians, 

196-7 
Engel,  Dr.  Ernst,  42 
Erasmus,  207 

Ernest  of  Coburg-Gotha,  Duke,  94 
Eugenie,  Empress,  195,  196 
"  Extra  post,"  20 

Falkenhausen,  Baron  von,  77-8 

Flein-y,  General,  195 

Forest  Academy  of  Tharandt,  72 

Forest  culture,  72-4 

Formes,  Carl,  1 

Frederick,    Emperor,    anecdote,    18; 

mourning    proclamation,    45  ;  and 

Blumenthal,  161-3 
Frederick  Charles,  Prince,   160;    and 

Blumenthal,  162 
Frederick  the  Great,  anecdote,  104-5 

(notfi)  ;  the  scheidemilnze,  21 
Frederick  William  IV.,  King,  61 
Fremde  Hdnde  in  Bevtschland,  94 
Frossard,  General,  193 

Glass-making,  60-71 ;  rose  coloured 
glass,  21 ;  early  method,  61  ;  white 
glass  enamel,  63;  social  conditions, 
64-9 

Gneist,  Rudolf  von,  106 

Goeben,  General  von,  153 

Goethe,  Walther  von,  203 

Goethe  and  Schiller  Archiv,  203-4 

Goethe's  palm-tree,  222 

Goliz,  Count  von  der,  194 

"  Grapeshot  Prince,"  38 

"  Groase  nioney,"  20 

Grimm,  Prof.  Hermann,  204 

Hamilton,  Hen-  von,  81,  82 

Haufstaengl,  Hans,  52 

Harcourt,   Sir   William  Vernon,   and 

r-ismarck.  243 
Hatzfeldt,  Count,  213 
Hawtrev.  Charles,  89 

282 


Henry  of  Mecklenburg,  Duke,  16 

Hevgendorfi',  innjor  von,  51 

He"v.-i'.  r.ml,  1  !.-..  110 

Hill,  Dr.  David  Jayne,  247-8 

Hinzpeter,  Dr.,  tutor  of  Emperor  Wil- 
liam II.,  109-13 

Hirth,  George,  145 

Holstein,  Herr  von,  Privy  Councillor, 
226-31  ;  on  relations  between  Bug- 
land  and  Germany,  228 ;  anecdote, 
230  ;  mental  affliction,  230 

Holtzendorf,  Count,  11 

Houig,  Capt.  Fritz,  258 

IGNATIEPF,  Count,  anecdote,  221 
Imperialism,  98,  273-4 
"  Iron  Cross,"  the,  43 

Jagemann,  Caroline,  51 

John,  King  of  Saxony,  24 

Josephineuhutte  glass  factory,  60-71  ; 
atelier  system,  67-8  ;  founding  of 
factory,  63  ;  Franz  Pohl,  62-3 ; 
social  conditions,  G4-6 

Katjlbach,  Fritz  A.,  144 

Keudell,  Baron  Robert  von,  123,  187 

Kiderlen-Waechter,  Herr  von,  231 

Xneipenlfibeti,  The,  55-7 

Kobertstein,  Karl,  57 

Kopp,  Dr.,  Prince  Bishop  of  Breslau, 
108-9 

Krebs,  Karl,  57 

Krieg  in  Frleden,  90 

Kulturkampf,  42,  108;  effect  on  reli- 
gious feeling,  84 ;  Bebel's  opinion 
of,  236 

Lenbach,  Frnnz  von,  127-142;  story 
of  Bismarck,  120  ;  an  appreciation 
of,  128;  and  Cecil  Rhodes,  130; 
and  the  Empress  of  Austria,  132; 
dealings  with  clients,  132-3  ;  anec- 
dotes, 133-5  ;  on  English  art,  137-8  ; 
personal  description,  141-2;  a  visit 
to,  145 

Lenz,  Prof.  Max,  179 

Leopold  of  Hohenzollern,  Prince,  172 

Levi,  Hermann,  146-7 

Liegnitz,  General  von,  256 

Lindau,  Paul,  90 

Louisen  Order,  44 

Lucca,  Pauline,  41 

Ludwig  of  Bavaria,  Prince,  145 

Maeschner,  Herr,  hotel  proprietor, 
50.  53 


INDEX 


Meadelssoon-Bartholdj',  Baron  Ernst 

von,  242 
Meyer,  Major-General  E,  v.on,  40 
Miscellaneous  :  English  influencea, 
7-8  ;  Germans  as  schoolmen,  14  ; 
frugal  living,  18-19  ;  independence 
of  character,  23  ;  beerhouse  life, 
55-7  ;  conditions  of  industry,  60- 
71  ;  musical  ability,  66  ;  education 
of  workmen,  69  ;  landowners  and 
manufacturers  compared,  75  ;  "tips" 
on  Polish  frontier,  83  ;  post-Bis* 
marck  era,  113  ;  exposure  of  dead  at 
Munich,  143  ;  public  services,  262-4  ; 
officialdom,  264-5  ;  outlook  on  life, 
271-2- ;  Germans  as  readers,  272; 
banking  methods,  274-5  ;  transition 
period,  275-9 

Moltke,  Field-Marshal,  97-105  ;  school 
days,  3;  anecdotes,  97.  102,  255: 
interview  with,  100-2  ;  lying  in 
state,  104-5  ;  and  Albert  of 
Saxony,  105;  and  Blumenthal,  IGO, 
162 

Moltke,  Helmuth  von,  99 

Moltke,  Count  William,  255-6 

Mommsen,  Prof.  Theodor,  176-186  ; 
and  Blumenthal,  153-4  ;  and  the 
brigand,  177  ;  and  the  North  Ameri' 
can  Rpvipw,  178  ;  on  the  South 
African  War,  179-183  ;  on  the  future 
of  Austria,  183 ;  on  the  present 
state  of  Germany,  183-4 

Moreau,  General,  11 

Morier,  Sir  Robert,  109 

" Moiitz  von  Reichenbach,"  80 

Morosini,  Countess,  184 

Moser,  Gustav  von,  80,  88-96;  first 
performances,  90  ;  character,  92-3  ; 
letters  95-6 

Mottl,  Felix,  148 

Muller,  Prof.  Max,  182 

Munich,  143-152 

Mutius,  Major  von,  9,  31 

Napoleon  III..  Emperor,  191-5  ;  and 

Mommsen,  177 
Kathan  der  flV/sy,  original  MS.  of,  243 
Naumann,  Prof.  Emil,  98 
Nesmueller's  Theatre,  30 
Nietzsche,   Frau   Elizabeth   Foerster, 

202-3  ;  Nietzsche  discussed,  200-2 
Nietzsche,  Arc.hh;  202 
Noailles,  Marquis  de,  422 

Pellet-Narbonne,  Capt.,  258 
Pcstalozzi,  Swiss  educationist,  2,  12 


Pohl,  Franz,  62-3 
Posadowsky,Xount,  196 
"  Post,"  20 
Postal  service,  264 
Preusler,  glass  manufacturer,  61 
Private  Secretary,  The,  89 
Prussian  Army  in  1806,  155-8 
Prussian  Frontier  Commissioner,  81-2 
Public  roads,  22 

Railway  service,  263-4 

Rantzau,  Countess,  147 

Reden,  Countess,  189 

Reichskanzler  Palais,  212-3 

Religious  Revival,  84 

Reminhcencex  by  the  King  of  Ron- 
mania,  169 

Reiiss  VII.,  Prince,  187-199;  visits 
to,  188,  190,  19R  ;  mission  to  Napo- 
leon III..  191-5;  Princess  Eleonore, 
196-7;  Princess  Reuss,  198;  an 
appreciation  of.  199 

Reynolds,  Sir  Joshua,  palette  of,  138-9 

Richter,  Eugen,  and  Bismarck,  121 

Riedel,  Baron  von,  241 

Rietz,  Julius,  57 

Rifle  guilds,  143-4;  a  shooting  match, 
256 

Roeckel,  The  Royal  Concertmeister, 
23  (note) 

Rosebery,  Lord,  anecdote,  226 

Rottenburg,  Dr.  Franz  von,  223-6 

Ruland,  Hofrath  Carl,  205 

Scaeia,  Emil,  57-8 

Schack,  Count,  as  art  patron,  22 

Schadow,  sculptor,  61 

Schaft'gotsch,  Count  Ludwig,  68.  72, 
74  ;  glass  works,  60,  75  ;  and  Franz 
Pohl,  62 

"Scheidemiinze,"  silver  coin,  21 

Schiller  Centenary  celebration,  206 

Schonthan,  Franz  von,  90 

School  Conference,  113 

Schopenhauer,  Arthur,  2 

Schreiberhau,  glass  works  at  ;  see 
Glass-making 

Schweinitz,  General  von,  221 

Schweninger,  Dr„  physician  to  Bis- 
marck, 119 

Seckendorff,  Count  Gotz  von,  249-253  ; 
on  England  and  Germany,  250,  253  ; 
anecdote,  232 

SeidI,  Gabriel  von,  152 

Semper,  Gottfried.  26,  47 

Singer,  Paul,  237-8 

Smith.  Prof.  Godwin,  on  Bisniarck,  126 

283 


INDEX 


Socialism,  234-241 ;  Herr  von  Rotten- 
burp  and,  225  ;  Herr  Bebel  and, 
2,34-6  ;  the  Emperor  and,  23fi  ; 
Paul  Singer,  237-8  ;  Georg  von 
Vollmar,  238;  Prof.  Lujo  Brentano, 
240-1  ;  in  Bavaria,  241  ;  aims  of, 
272-3  ;  general  remarks,  277 

Sophia,  Grand  Duchess  of  Saxe 
Weimar,  203-4 

*'  Sperrgeldcr,"  84 

"  Stammtisch  "  gatherings,  55-6 

Stoffel,  Colonel,  193 

Stourdza,  Demeter,  169 

Theatre,  25-30  ;  construction,  28-9 
Tichatscheck,  singer,  56 
Tower,  Charlemagne,  247 
Travelling,  before  1870, 19-22;  present 

day,  262-4 
Trebschen,  pnrk  at,  188-9 
Treitschke,  Heinrich  von,  106 

Ulbich,  Pauline,  57,  44 

VendoMB,  H.E.H.  the  Due  de,  171-2 
Vernois,  General  von  Verdydu,  258; 

on  Blumenthal,  168 
Versen,  General  vou,  165 
Vitzthum  Gymnasium,  2-17  ;  system 

of  education,  3-5  ;  moral  effect  of 


system,  6  ;  English  influence  in,  7  ; 
cosmopolitanism,  8,  10 ;  bullying, 
9  ;  code  of  honour,  9  ;  historic  fight 
at,  9-10 ;  walking  tours,  12-13  ; 
physical  culture,  13  ;  new  school, 
15 

Vollmar,  Georg  von,  238-241 

Vyner,  Delicia,  158 

Waonek,  Frau  Cosima,  147-150 

Wagner,  Siegfried,  147-9 

Wagner,  Richard,  anecdotes,  58-9  ; 
an  opinion  of,  57 

Walther,  Dr.,  physician,  49-50 

Watts,  G.  F.  and  Lenbach,  139 

White,  Andrew  D.,  246 

Wildenbruch,  Ernst  von,  206-7 

Wilhelmstrasse,  The,  223-233;  journal- 
ists at,  231-2  ;  some  officials  and 
their  duties,  231-3 

William  I.,  Emperor,  33-45;  entry 
into  Berlin,  3-4-8  ;  popularity  of, 
38-9;  anecdotes,  39,  41,  44,  93; 
official  mourning  for,  45  ;  and  Wag- 
ner, 59 

Wissmann,  Major,  explorer,  152 

Wyndham,  Sir  Charles,  89 

Zetteritz,  General  von,  11,  29 
Ziegler,  Clara,  57 


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